CS 211 175 TITLE Literature for All Students

DOCUMENT RESUME

-ED 294 191 CS 211 175

TITLE Literature for All Students: A Sourcebook for Teachers. INSTITUTION California State Dept. of Education, Sacramento. PUB DATE 85 NOTE 237p4 Written by the California Literature Institute participants, 1985. PUB TYPE Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS Administrator Role; Classroom Environment; Computer Managed Instruction; *Course Content; Curriculum Guides; Educational Media; Educational Philosophy; Educational Resources; *English Curriculum; Essay Tests; High Schools; Instructional Material Evaluation; *Language Arts; *Literature Appreciation; Professional Associations; Reading Materials; Secondary Education; Student Writing Models; Teacher Role; Teaching Methods; Writing Evaluation; Writing Processes IDENTIFIERS Book Clubs; *California; Collaborative Learning; Dialogue Journals; *Writing Assignments

ABSTRACT As part of an ongoing dialogue among teachers in California high schools, this sourcebook addresses some of the issues involved in teaching English/Language Arts at the secondary level. The sourcebook is divided into eight chapters, and begins with an overview answering questions concerning the California Model Curriculum Standards (MCS) for English and Language Arts. The second chapter discusses the philosophy and background of the reform in English Language Arts, and the third and fourth chapters focus on the administrator's and teacher's roles in implementing the MCS. Chapter 5, "The Classroom: Literature for All Students," proposes a process approach to reading and writing; chapter 6, "The Student: Collaborative Learning," focuses on active student participation in the learning process; chapter 7, "Assessment: Student Progress in Understanding Literature," discusses assessments emphasizing process and product; and the final chapter, "Resources," presents information about books, films and videos, computers, statewide instructional/professional development centers, and funding. (Fifteen illustrations are included, and a list of 1985 California Literature Institute participants, narratives explaining the charts in chapters 1 and 4, lessons for Eugene Ionescu's play "The Rhinoceros," and a selected bibliography of related documents are appended.) (MM)

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LITERATURE FOR ALL STUDENTS:

A SOURCEBOOK FOR TEACHERS

Written by The California Literature Institute Participants

1985

The California Literature Project is sponsored by The California State Department of Education Bill Honig, Superintendent and by University of California, Los Angeles The Office of Academic Interinstitutional Programs Juan Francisco Lara, Dean "Musee des Beaux Arts," from T. H. Auden:Collected Poems, by W. H. Auden, edited by Edward Mendelson, is reprinted by permission of RandomHouse, Inc., copyright © 1940, renewed 1968 by W. H. Auden. An excerpt from Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez, copyright © 1981 by RichardRodriguez is reprinted by permission of David R. Godine, Publisher, Boston. The cartoonswhich appear in Chapter 1 of this work are reprinted with permission from IsIt Really Only Monday? Plan Book, by David Sipress, copyright © 1981, by David S.Lake PublishTi.s, Belmont, CA 94002.

ii I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on in the world between the covers of books, such sand-storms and ice- blasts of words, such slashing of humbug, and humbug too, such staggering peace, such enormous laughter, such and so many blinding bright lights breaking across the just-awaking wits and splashing all over the pages in a million bits and pieces all of which were words, words, words, and each of which was alive forever in its own delight and glory and oddity and light.

Dylan Thomas "Notes on the Art of Poetry" 1951

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vi

Chapter

1 AN OVERVIEW 1

Questions and Answers Roadblocks /Highways to Learning

2 THE PHILOSOPHY AND BACKGROUND OF THE REFORM la ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS 25 The Point-of-View Statement The Conference

3 THE ADMINISTRATOR 51 Summary of the Model Curriculum Standards Special Admhlistrative Concerns

4 THE TEACHER 65 Strategies and Resources for New Teachers The Professionals' Book Club

5 THE CLASSROOM: LITERATURE FOR ALL STUDENTS 79 The Process Approach as a Way to Teach ALL Students Special Challenges Ways to Integrate the Language Arts

6 THE STUDENT: COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 121

Rationale and Techniqur; Applications in Teaching a Poem, Novel, Play, and Shakespeare

7 ASSESSMENT: STUDENT PROGRESS IN UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE 143

I. Assessment Emphasizing Process: From Assignment to Assessment II. Assessment Emphasizing Product A. Designing Good Essay Questions 13.Writing University Extrance Examinations

iv Chapter

8 RESOURCES 189 Special Books, Media and Computer Aids State and Federal Sources

APPENDICES 221 A. California Literature Institute Participants, 1985 B. Narratives Explaining the Charts Facing Chapters 1 through 4 C. Lessons for The Rhinoceros D. Selected Bibliography

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Reform in Curriculum 2

Sample Power Paragraph 13

Five Paragraph Essay 14

Passive Classrooms 15

English Classes over Twenty-five Students 16

Over-reliance on Standardized Testing 17

Formalistic Testing 18

After a Year with the Model Curriculum Standards 24

Levels of Literacy 26

The English Program 52

Systematic Writing Program 66

Into/Through/Beyond 80

The Search for Justice and Dignity 106

What Collaborative Learning Groups Look Like 122 In an Information-based Society Education is Everybody's Business 190

v PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The soul is constantly about to starve: it cannot live on fun alone. If the soul gets no other food, it will first tear apart other creatures ... then itself. --Selma Liigerliif

The work in this book is that of teachers.It is a conversation of English teachers to other teachers about the most important focus in their professional lives: the minds and hearts of the 1.5 million students in California high schools and how to nourish them for life.This book presupposes acquaintance with the document called Model Curriculum Standards, English/Language Arts. (A summary appears in Chapter 3.) When these 1985 Model Curriculum Standards appeared, there was rapid agreement among English teachers that its literature-centered programs were right and its meaning-centered literary emphasis was sound.Instinctively, good teachers have always known this and felt uneasy with the reading and writing kits, the quick fixes,the fragmentations,thefifty-seven objectives forthe week, etc. But translating ideals into classroom realities, when resources are in short supply and legislative bodies have already turned their attention to other matters, remains to be done. This sourcebook represents one step--the suggestions of ninety-five teachers who spent a summer of concentrated thought and heart-warming enthusiasm trying to suggest solutions to these problems:

o What are the soundest principles of learning available to us? How are literacy and high-order thinking developed?

o How do we get support for what we now know needs to be done?

o How do we help the teacher--both the fledgling whose habits are often set during the first few years--and ourselves so that we keep our spirits high arid our knowledge deep?

o What are truly workable ideas for the classroom?

o How can we make students responsible for their own education?

vi o What about assessing progress?

o What resources are available for all this change? How do I and my department select the teaching aids most suitablefor my students?

After the Overview chapter, the followingseven chapters try to answer these questions.No answer is complete or final.For ongoing dialogue we await the contributions of the thousands of other teachers.Listed in the appendix are the names of the teachers who wrote this work.Their names are not attached to their contributions because finally it became impossible tocut up the seamless web of all their thoughts, conversations, and mutual revisions. Much of their superbwriting did not find room in so small a book and it became increasingly difficultto credit which ideas are whose. Thus our first acknowledgment isto the teachers themselves who brainstormed, argued, and rewrote incessantly to providethese results--this book. Second we must acknowledge here the total commitment ofthe Regional Directors of the project, John Angelo, Mary Barr, Mel Grubb,Lloyd Thomas, and Hortense Thornton, whose love of both teachers and literature made itall work. To Superintendent Bill Honig, weowe thanks for the literature project and its fruits, including this book.It was clear from the start that Bill wanted a meaning- centered literature program with every student in thestate reading and writing, and that the names of his enemies were ignorance, low expectations, andinertia. Unlike Cincinnatus, he will not defeat his enemy ina single day and we wish him a long tenure. Our deepest thanks also go: To UC .A, and the support of Executive ViceChancellor William Schaefer, himself a fo, ,er English professor, to Dean JuanLara, a leader for leaders whose office has done so much good for teachers, andto his staff, especially Anne Sirota; to the Office of Instructional Development, and Assistant Vice Chancellor Andrea Rich.

To the California State Department of Education,especially James R. Smith, David W. Gordon, Francie Alexander, Sally Mentor, and MaeGundlach, for their insights and encouragement.

To theleadersintheschools anddistrictsthat providedtheproject participants, the time, resources, and other support, financial andmoral, to begin this literature project. vii To the researchers, educators, on whose shoulders we stand, especially those bringing back simplicity and common sense in a gimmicky age:to Frank Smith, to Steve Rrashen, to E. D. Hirsch. To our estimable typist, Antonia Turman, and to Dorene Kaplan, our copyright specialist. To the youth everywhere who in their fresh glory and vigor challenge the teacher in us to strive to be the best.

Patricia Taylor, UCLA January 1986

() viii (I CHAPTER 1

AN OVERVIEW

in which questions, both cantankerous and gentle, are answered; some features of the reform are made graphic; and some quick "fixes" are unfixed

10 THE REFORM IN CURRICULUM

Meaning-centered instruction

The best for all students

Rigorous standards

Active writing, problem solving,

Values

A common body of knowledge iterature-based

Fragmentation

Passive "listening"

Lowered expectations

Unconscious bias against ESL and vocational students

Formalism; "package"-centered instruction

(Details explaining this chart are in Appendix B.) Chapter 1

AA OVERVIEW

Questions Most Often Asked About The Model Curriculum Standards for English and Language Arts

Q.Isn't it all just another swing of the pendulumaway from the old methods of "Back to Basics"?

A.Reading literature,writing and speaking are the real basics. The Model Curriculum Standards stress basic themes of daily life-- ethical /social /cultural -- issues. The old basics fragmented learning into tiny skills-- meaning was lost.

Q. Are you insinuating, then, that we must ignore basic skills andteach literature exclusively?

A.Not at all. Reading widely helps students with skills. Usage, meenanics, vocabulary, and syntax are best learned in context.We are promoting a more rigorous and well-balanced curriculum. We are also looking for teaching approaches that are more meaning-based than formalistic--inother words, dealing more with meaning than rote memorization of fragmentedformulas and literary terms.

Q.TeachersIknow saythey've always taught the way the MCS document recommends. Exactly how is this new curriculum different?

A.Some good teachers have always done most of whatthe MCS stress.But differences between the typical English curriculum and thenew one can be highligitts..41 as follows:

is different.Literature for all students means not just the 1. e but even the less literate and the limited English-speaking

3 1 r) students read and discuss worthwhile literature. The trend toward isolating underprepared students and patronizing them with workbooks,trivial stories, and films must end. And at the other end of the scale, the best students mustn't be allowed to slide through, but must be challenged.

The material is different.1.Students should when possible be exposed to entire works of literature in all genres. 2. Smaller selections in anthologies can b, used on occasion when they provide significant experiences with li tera ture.

The focus is different.Literature is taught primarily for its meaning and taught thoroughly with explicit attempt3 to connect literature and its dilemmas and world-views with the students' lives. This is true teaching of critical thinking--asking why and seeing applictilions of age-old universal situations to today's political, social, and personal situations.

The method is different.Good teaching is not just teacher lecture and teacher-based discussion; not just handing out assignments and grading the results, but total student involvement.Reading requires, in addition to reading the text, much prereading and postreading.We find ways into, through, and beyond the text.

o We stress substance, not formal features; this implies we emphasize learning what can help make sense of life assessing personal values analyzing characters for insight into people learning technical aspects (like setting, character, and plot) oily as subservient to central ideas, issues, knowledge, meaning enjoying language.

oWe encourage much, even daily, writing of different kinds. This writing is used for learning, not for error-hunting.

oWe have students speaking formally and informally about what they read.

oWe teachwriting,speaking, vocabulary, usageinthe context of meaningful content--good reading in all genres and disciplines. 4

13 Q. Where will I find the time to teach all of this?

A.TheNICS suggest a program for student growth throughout secondary school. (A similar program for elementary and junior high students isnow being developed.) The suggested program should be used as a guideline notas gospel; you are free to teach what works for you and your students.The Model Curriculum Standardsinactualitywillhelpfreeyoufromfragmented procedures, from doubt about what others have taught your students, and from formalistic procedures which take time away from teaching genuine literacy and literature.

Q. I have too much to do without haviag to read more books and trying to create lesson plans for works Pve never taught before. What do I do? A. Reconsider priorities.A top priority is having your students read and write about literature meaningful to them. Your own enjoyment of literature and of teaching is also an important priority:If your district and school ask you to change some of the books you've been teaching, you might see the change as a chance to teach in a fresh way.The MCS make general suggestions to guide students' personal reading and to reinforce a positive, supportive atmosphere in the classroom.For your particular situation, your insights and experience are needed to adapt the suggestions for your department, school, and district.

Q. How do we know that any of this will work?

A.We do not know, for there are no set answers. As individuals, each of us would teach a work in a specific way. We seldom agree on the "right" way to teacha particular work, anyway. The point is to teach worthwhile literature and do it in our own, unique ways. Then, judge what works.Like all good plans, the MCS will continually reform themselves.

Q. How do I begin?

A.Select one piece of literature and work with it.Don't become your own worst enemy by trying to do every type of writing with every literary selection.Do select a piece of reading material with several levels of meaning to be investigated.Divide the process into its three overlapping components (into,

w through, and beyond) and brainstorm for yourself asking, How can I prepare the students before they begin to read? What do I want them to recognize az: they are reading? How can I help them retain the ideas they read about? What do I want students to carry away from the reading when they have finished? Then- what type of writing will help satisfy these goals? The writing may then be used as a lead-in for interaction with other students, other people, in the form of discussion, interviews, and surveys.

Q.Pm more interested in spending the majority of my classroom time working on grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.How can I use literature to focus on these skills?

A.Fifty years of research demonstrate spending much class time directly teaching grammar is wasteful. Grammar in isolation is helpful or interesting only to the linguist.Almost all our skills--usage,vocabulary,spelling included--come in tow with much reading and writing. Literature can well focus some interesting language study.If you want to point out the use and importance of verbal phrases, give them selections from the reading text with those phrases omitted and examine the possible importance to the outcome of the story.Vocabulary exercises become more meaningful when related to the literature. Students may generate their own list by posting unfamiliar words from the reading on a "word wall."New words from other sources may gain clarity when they are used to support a claim in a paper they are writing. In writing about literature, students gain control of vocabulary and correct usage. Through using language in increasingly complex but realistic situations, students find they develop power over it.*

Q. Textbooks are rarely plentiful enough. How can I have the students do follow-up writing when the teacher down the hall is waiting impatiently for the books?

A. How about using a summarizing technique as the students are reading? Keep a copy on butcher paper posted where everyone may refer to it.Include favorite

*Ingrid M. Stromm, "Research in Grammar and Usage and Its Implications for Teaching Writing," Bulletin of the School of Education 36 (Sept. 1960):13-14, Indiana U. Check the State Department of Education's Improving Writing in California Schools: Problems and Solutions for a discussion of research in this area.

15 quotations as you go so that the books may be passed on withoutyour losing necessary tools.Reading logs provide another popular method for keeping individual summaries. These are especially helpful ir. double-entry formats that contain both summary and reaction.Another usable summary might be kept in the form of a running plot line posted for all.

Q.If Pm going to have the students doing all that writing (both the reading logsyou are suggesting and the usual essays), how am I going to handle all the extra paper grading?

A. Don't you check the answers on chapter questions?Now it will be check the reading log for entries.It may be a simple "Did-you-do-it?" check.Let the students set up a system of evaluation and then work ingroups. Assigned essays will take longer but not much if you have zeroed in on what you're looking for and students know what that is.Learn to limit yourself in the use of the red pen. Select specific writing elements for each assignment and use a check sheet to help you and the students focus on those limited requirements.

Q.I am forced to use only selections from the anthology.How can I cover literature sufficiently without supplementary texts?

A. Pick and choose.Decide first what it is that you want the students tocome away with. How can you use the shorter works as a way into the longer ones? You don't havetousethequestions atthe end of a work to check understanding.You don t need to go in order if there is an arrangement that seems more logical to you.Go ahead and relate the old to the new, short to long, poem to play, fiction to nonfiction. And use the public libraries. Fiveor six students could read the same novel and help each other (see Chapter5 for Student Book Clubs and Chapter 6 on Collaborative Learning).

Q. I teach the lower ability (or perhaps the language-minority) classeswhere the students seldom put more than three or four sentences together forany assignment. How do I get them to expand their writing -and thinking? A. This is a tough question.We've devoted a whole chapter to how to teach all students because we don't feel underachieving or language-minority students should be treated as less than full human beings.Anything you can do to

7 encourage more reading will build the language patterns these students need to draw upon in order to write.Learning logs or journals you respond to can promotethatessentialfirst step fluency provided you don't continually constrain students by insisting on perfect usage prior to the editing stage of the writing process.Journals also promote thoughtfulness abt literature--and personal experience. Oral work aif2s reading; simply copying aids beginning writing.

Q. I've been hearing about the California Literature Project from friends who enjoyed the summer. How do I become a part of it?

A. You apply through your local school districts. We envision a growing number of sites affiliated with other universities, both UC and CSU. As an applicant, you will be asked for quite specific responses to certain questions.In 1985 the questions were, "What problem do you find in teaching literature?" and "How do you address this problem?" Belowis an exemplary statement by a 1985 applicant.

The Problem I Find in Teaching Literature

Louise Rosenblatt says that somewhere between kindergarten and the end of school the essence of literature is lost.It no longer belongs to students.I believe that as a teacher I have been partly responsible for this loss, and I have only in recent years come upon a few ways to save that essence, to recover that essence for my students.

The Way I Addressed This Problem

Frequently this year and last I have askedthe studentsto teach the class: they bring in the passage they want to read and discuss and their questions.Thus, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn belongs from the very beginning to them.My role, then, is to move them to whatever 'nquiry the students' own questions have not raised.

The second way I have tried to keep literature theirs, rather than mine, is through writing.Students keep and hand in book logs in which they comment on their reading, ask questions, and begin to formulate answers that may provide the basis for more extensive writing later on. Another kind of writing I ask them to do comes at the end. Students formulate those questions theythinkthe book asks;for example,reGreat Expectations:"Does anyone have the right to lay his/her expectations on another person?" "What is a real gentleman?" "How do people cope

17 with their worlds?"Students then choose one of the questions and embark upon finding answers.They write an essay explaining what answers the book provides; they interview an older person to find out his/her answers; they reflect on the answers they have uncovered and decide what all this means to them and how, in the end, they willanswer their questions.All this writing becomes one paper and provides what I hopewillbe an important documentfor themforever. Great Expectations will, indeed, have an afterlife because it has given them insight into their own lives. I believe, again as does Louise Rosenblatt, that readers makea silent contract with the literature they are reading. My job is to see that I do not come between the reader and the book and shatter that contract. Giving power and respect to my students has helped us all.

Q. Why does the literature institute begin with writers like Proust and Goethe? Anyone can tell you such works won't go over in the classroom. A. Teachers appreciate the nourishment and stimulation of new literary works too.They need challenging works--partly to feel the sense of conquest and partly to work out, at an experimental level, ways to make complex works accessible, ways they will then use with more confidence in the classroom. One teacher, reflecting on Proust's Time Recaptured, says that she learned in depth what reading and literature in general are really about. Proust became a mere "stepping stone to reading the drama and tissue of memories and dreams that time haswoven in our minds,to quote UCLA Proust scholar, Dr. James Reid. Proust himself noted "it seemed to me that they would not be 'my' readers but the readers of theirown selves."He saw the writer's work as a kind of optical instrument enabling the reader to see what he might never have seen, had he not read this book. The book of life is then, not so much the world around, but that within. It's an "inner book of unknown signs."Proust is saying, "My vision matters." Yours too, readers, matters. If you forget what you want to be and also stop trying to be someone else, you will fully be yourself. For literature teachers, it's interesting to realize Proust found that both of the old standard categories, Realism and Romanticism, failed him. Since he found he could never know the inner mind of his beloved Albertine, that he was indeed always wrong about her, he could not be realistic in writing. Since nature failed him, he could not experience the Romantic's euphoria about nature; no emotionswere inspired by concrete reality.He developed a third method based on his belief that there is no "reality"; it is constructed by our conscious minds.

9 Q. You've been talking a lot about the MCS for 9-12.Is there anything planned for K-8?

A. Yes,aModel CurriculumGuideis now being preparedfordistribution, incorporating many of the features of the MCS.But it is a guide and not mandated by law.

Q. Is there anything else which might help K-8 teachers?

A. Yes. The new literature handbookforK-8willsoon be publishedin Sacramento. This will suggest specific classroom works children love and learn from and ways to rethink how we teach literature in the grades.

Q. Finally, how does all thisfitthe larger picture of reforms in education, statewide, even nationwide?

A. For that answer, let's look at a summary of Superintendent Bill Honig's remarks at the 1985 June Literature Conference.He began by quoting Lawrence Cremin's The Genius of American Education: On the basis of prudence alone no modern industrial nation can fail to afford every one of its citizens a maximum opportunity for moral and intellectual development. And beyond prudence there is justice.No society that calls itself democratic can settle for education that does not encourage universal acquaintance with the best that has been thought and said.

What we are talking about here, Bill added, is how to deliver on that promise of democracy. Can we make availablethose powerful ideas and thoughts and statements to a broad range of students in this multicultural and diverse society? If we can't do that, then I think we have failed in our obligations as school people. Paul Gagnon in Challenge to the Humanities has given us a useful package to describe what we need to do in the schools:

o The worker--what is it going to take to prepare the next generation to be qualified for the kinds of jobs they will be called upon to do? Itis utilitarian, but it needs to be looked at. We can no longer reserve a certain kind of education for the college student alone. The new jobs will require a whole new set of demands.Workers will have to use their minds much more. A broader range of students will have to be prepared to be retrained more often.They will have to know how to learn new things.Formal teaching of techniqueisn'tenoughfor students. Literacyismore import &nt. Skills must be embedeed in 'the content.

.19 o Ail people--should develop a sense of citizenship--civic consciousness. Literature gives example, gives models.We will have to help students understand what things are important--what the world is really like.

o Equity--We owe it to a broad range of students to give them the cultural background which will allow them to participate inour society. If we don't provide this background, we are denying students this equity. Honig also warned of the dangers of American individualism goingtoo faraway from community. Drawing on Robert M. Bellah's Habits of the Heart, he noted the immigrant ideals of making it on one's own and for one'sown make us unaware of community and social goals.Democracy won't work unless we make an individual choice to behave in some manner that will support these higher goalsor purposes. You just cannot get the payoff in life by going off on yourown, cutting yourself off from the community at large. The payoffs inour life come from participation in the larger group. Literature seems to be an importantway of conveying the message that our development as individuals must not sacrificeour sensitivity to and cooperation with the commumnity. Three ideas are key to understanding whatwe are doing as teachers of literature:

o preparation for work o preparation for citizenship o preparation for life--individual development

In our multicultural population--Hispanic, Asian, Black, Anglo--we mustmake ideas come alive. We must frame our literarycanon to include the writer who speaks to the problems of all groups. We will have to learn from teachers who have found ways of reaching a broad range of students. And we must get all of the teachers to become aware of these ideas and of the ways to translate these general philosophies into practical, workable, day-to-day lessens in the classroom. Thislatter statement sums up the purpose of the chapters which follow. We end the chapter with cartoons and other visualeffects to emphasize specific helps and hindrances to encouraging wholehearted participationof our students in their developing full literacy.

11 20 ROADBLOCKS TO KNOWLEDGE:

THE FORMALISTIC APPROACH AND EXCESSIVE TESTING

Ifwe turnawayfromtheseductionsofeducational formalism, we can look forward to an interesting national debate about what (heterogeneous) knowledge should now be the canonical knowledge of our tribe. --E. D. Hirsch

The "technique or form creates content" attitude of the 1940s New Criticism makes for cold treatment of stories, deliberate mental superiority over literature--as if literature were something to be seen through.... Allapproaches to stories being read must be to what they show of life--inner life,feelings, public life, morals. --Carol Bly

ti 21 SAMPLE POWER PARAGRAPH

Television has been a very important invention.First,itis very educational. For example, children can learn the alphabet from shows like Sesame Street.Second, television is informative. Shows like Sixty Minutes teach viewers about pollution,andveriiiie. this significant invention is very entertaining. Theto6y'SholikaiidNiathi,Vicevrovide the audience hours of enjoyment.tlearly;,AelevisioitibAiii4itS:Wal1: -

Problem The "power"' ,paragraph isat quick fix.It says somethink deceitful, .about writing - -that it an easy, orderly, prodets- that 'consists mainly, .of lolleAring a formula.Also, according to-one,Study, only 106,-Ofparatgraphshave-a-toPic sentence as their first sentence.At 'best,:POWer',paragraphing might be,.useful as a revision technique for extremely disorganize-dor impressionistic writing.

13 FIVE PARAGRAPH ESSAY I intend to prove that drugs are very dangerous.I will show this by examining how dangerous they are to a person physically and mentally, and to the people around a user. To begin with, drugs-are, dangerous to a person physically. First, amphetamines cause many ill effects.bn:_the body. ,Ror example, 'they can cause.high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats,. and'heart 'attticks.Methamphetamines are another kind of amphetamine/ They- are :thought toicauSe brain -clainage, although it has not been proven.Sedond,, cOntinuOw-USe of barbituates can cause 'blurred' speech, loss of coordinatiOn, and sluggishness.They-lso -slow-down the activity, of the breathing center. /Third, -abigie,,,Or : heroin- can? cause a drop in the blood pressure, .slOwing of respira/tiOn. and -,CiroulatiOTh and stupor or coma.Unsterile ;needles can spread he pa tit is; (le tanus, andAthe r in fec /7 \c- -,N.seCondreaSon is drugs are-dangerous to a person mentally. ,Fi4t'Of all,,using berbittfates can cause psyohological dependence.Withdrawal from barbitup,tes is sometimes more dangerous than withdrawal from narcotics.Second,, the effects of iLiStps. on the mind are serious. A user can experience hallucinations'and a reduced ability to tell, whether sometbingIS realor not.Also L.S.D. causes serious mental disorders- including depression and a feeling of persecution.Last of:all, volatile .chemicals used improperlycan also cause. psychological ,lependence.They, -cause irritabilityArresponsible and foolish acts. TheTalSo cause antisocial behavior.

--- Finally; drugs are dangerous to the-People around the user. One example is the crimes people commit while under the Influenee of drugs. For example, glue-sniffing sometimes causes homicidal acts by tlie user. Another example is addicts stealing money to help. support their habit. Second, the'drug user is a serious traffic'ha4ard. `$1.0w.reaciion.time, impaired depth perception and-bad judgment reduce the-driver's ability to cOpa'even in normal traffic.Finally,. the, use of drugs is a .public health problem. Drug dependency is a chronic disease and .can be "caught" fromone' abuser by others.If a-person has "friends" whoare addicted, that person is more likely to get :hooked.In a real sense, drug dependency is a communicable and contagious disens,, C. Ey examining how drugs are dangerous to a person' physically, mentally, and to the people around the userl.I have shown that drugs are very dangerous.

Problem Teachers of extremely inexperienced writers would be happy to get the results of the five-paragraph essay above.This form gives structure to the unstructured. However, it is an artificial device limited to school use. (See how much real-world writing is five paragraphs in length.) Aside from its use as a temporary crutch, the five-paragraph essay should be avoided as its concentration on form often inhibits meaning.

14 n r) PASSIVE CLASSROOMS

3. ENGLISH CLASSES WITH OVER TWENTY-FIVE STUDENTS

OWITIANLIE

Since if 15-0,nlythe day of schodla havenit had CAChantelttleArt) all your name.; Yep;..,

. CJs 25 OVER-RELIANCE ON STANDARDIZED TESTING

17 FORMALISTIC TESTING: FILL IN THE BLANKS

FILL IN THE BLANKS: 1. A is a pair of lines that rhyme. 2-3. The two major categories of poetry we studied in this unit are (2) and (3) 4-5. Ballads were originally meant to be (4) (or). 7. The Odyssey is a famous 8. Rhyme is

9. A song is-a, type of . poetry. 10. The.storyin a is often dramatic, violent and tragic. 11. A lyric poem written about a:person who is dead is an 12. A sonnet is a lyric poem that has lines. 13. is giving human traits to animals or things. 14. Lyric poems take their names from.a , anancient 15. stringed instrument on which the bard accompanied himself. 16. Ballads often contain repeated lines known as SHORT ANSWERS 17. What are the characteristics of narrative-poetry? 18. What is imagery? 19. What does the poet try to share in a lyric poem? 20. In what ways are poetry and prose different? MATCHING A. "The road was a ribbon of moonlight." B. "His brown skin hung in,strips like ancient wallpaper." C. "...over me bright April / Shakes her rain-drenched hair." D. "The weary, way-worn wanderer..." E. "No time to see, when woods we pass, / Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass." F.'... murmuring of innumerable bees." 21. couplet 24. simile 22. personification 25. onomatopoeia 23. alliteration 26. metaphor

CommentFormalistic Testing While learning the special vocabulary of literature is certainly legitimate, this kind of test misses the essence of the poetry studied.

18 27 HIGHWAYS TO KNOWLEDGE:

MEANING-CENTERED STUDENT RESPONSES (Instead of a Fill-in-the-Blank Test, a Five-Paragraph Essay, or a Power Paragraph)

Coaching writing in the last years of school aims at helping students to learn how to think, to give full expression to what they feel, and to organize what they know.... But remember: no method or technique will work unless interesting materials are used. Nothing can replace interest--the desire to know. Van Dorn The Paideia Program

...writing is a natural, attainable, enjoyable, and highly productive way of spending some of one's time. --Frank Smith Essays into Literacy

Five Kinds of Student Response to Literature

Student Response #1

Favorite Passage in a Book

I think that this is the most beautiful passage in My Antonia:

We sat looking off across the country, watching the sun go down. The curly grass about us was on fire now. The bark of the oaks turned red as copper.There was a shimmer of gold on the brown river.Out in the stream the sandbars glittered like glass, and the light trembled in the willow thickets as if little flames were leaping among them.The breeze sank to stillness.In the ravine a ringdove mourned plaintively, and somewhere off in the bushes an owl hooted.The girls sat listless, leaning against each other. The long fingers of the sun touched their foreheads. (p. 244)

--Jodi Bayrd

19 Student Response 02

A Personal Letter to Anne Frank Dear Anne: My name is Sharon, and I am a Persian Jew living in the land of freedom, America. When I heard your family had to leave their home in Amsterdam to take refuge in a hidden apartment in order to live a safe life, I was deeply touched. Because of the similar situation that happened to me in Iran, I really understand your problems.I know how it feels to leave your home forced by the fear that someone is going to kill you and your family because of your religion. On August 4, I understand, you were sent to Westenbork, a concentration camp in Holland.After that, on September 3, you began your long journey to Auschwitz, the infamous camp in Poland where 4,000,000 Jews died in the gas chambers. I can't imagine what you went through, but I know it was very hard and sad, especially after your mother's death in women's camp.I just would like to tell you that you are one of the most courageous girls I've ever heard of in my life, and I truly admire you. Sincerely,

Sharon Shadgoo

Student Response #3

Haiku as Personal Messages

Haiku: No sky at all No earth at all--and still The snowflakes fall. --Hashin Response: When tomorrow breaks the earth and sky will return on a summer day. --Micah Hyman

Haiku: Night.. . and once again, the while I wait for you, cold winds turn into rain. --Shiki

2 Response: Soon I will appear and withered leaves will not be near and the grass will grow. --Micah Hyman Haiku: Underneath the moon of autumn, my neighbor plays a lute out of tune. --Koyo Response: When the lute is tuned friends will share a glance at the moon, while the grass and roses bloom. --Micah Hyman

Student Response #4

Writing about the Meaning of Two Like Poems "To His Coy Mistress" and "You, Andrew Marvell": But at my back I always hear Time's winged chariot hurrying near; And yonder see before us lie Deserts of vast eternity. These lines from Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" form the background of MacLeish's poem, "You, Andrew Marvell."Two main ideas from Marvell's poem become themes in MacLeish's: Time moves swiftly, and time lays waste--destroys. The first theme is taken from Marvell's lines, "But at my back I always hear / Time's winged chariot hurrying near." Time is "always coming on"as MacLeish put it.One feels this "coming on" of the night because of MacLeish's construction of his poem. The poem starts out in medias res: And here face down beneath the sun And here upon earth's noonward height To feel the always coming on The always rising of the night. The poem begins as if in the middle of a cycle, and it ends with the lines:

21 A30 And here face downward in the sun To feel how swift how secretly The shadow of the night comes on.... The cycle will continue again and again.

The onward movement of Time is also emphasized by the punctuation in the poem. Other than the ellipsis mark at the end, MacLeish only uses two connecting punctuation marks, colons. The rest of the poem is without punctuation. The feeling given is one of hurried onward motion. There is no stopping of Time just as the poem never stops.The images also convey this same feeling.The shadow of night first creeps, then climbs, then floods over cities--great cities--countries and continents. No place is safe from Time--not mountains nor cities nor bridges.Time moves swiftly. The second theme comes from Marvell's lines, "And yonder see before me lie / deserts of vast eternity." Marvell's deserts symbolize the destructive force of Time, and MacLeish builds on thisidea. He uses diction to emphasize the dismal destruction Time brings: To feel creep up the curving east The earthy chill of dusk and slow Upon those under lands the vast And ever climbing shadow grow The words used could cause a shudder almost by themselves: earthy chill, creep, under lands, shadow, dark, and withered all give a sort of graveyard feeling to the poem. MacLeish also uses the destruction of great empires of the past to emphasize Time's destruction now.If Persia fell, and all the other great places have fallen as well, Time is indeed very powerful; nothing can stand against it.Not only can nothing stop Time, but all is eventually stopped by Time: And now at Kermanshah the gate Dark empty and the withered grass And through the twilight now the late Few travellers in the western pass Time is destructive.It has destroyed in the past and continues always to destroy. MacLeish portrays time as both incessant and swift--and terrible. --Kathy Kenoyer

22 Student Response #5

Imitation of "Swift Things Are Beautiful"

Imaginary Things are Beautiful with thanks to Elizabeth Coatsworth Imaginary things are beautiful: Pegasus and a three-headed dog, And unicorns that gallop Swift and full of grace, U.F.O.'s and green-headed martians, Black roses in the thicket, The false moon glowing in the night, The extra-terrestrial floating into space. But realistic things are beautiful: The child playing with a puppy, The horse that gallops On the new-fallen snow, Grains of grass blowing in the wind, The sun drifting downwards towards the sunset, The breaking of dawn with dew on the roses, And the birth of twin baby deer In the mist of darkness. --Kim McKelvey Imitation of "Swift Things are Beautiful" Fast Things are Beautiful with thanks to Elizabeth Coatsworth Fast things are beautiful: Concords and Ferraris, And Carl Lewis who runs Swift and graceful, Cheetahs and Jaguars, A Nolan Ryan fastball The Interceptor 1000 And the flash of lightning. Slow things are beautiful: A lasting sunset. A falling leaf in autumn That dances from tree to ground, The opening of a flower, The blossoming plants, And the snail that crawls on Down the endless road --David Nickoll

:1:4 2 AFTER A YEAR WITH THE MODEL CURRICULUM STANDARDS

ORE

In These.troubled tirnes, when The. teo chi n9 profession is under attacN on allsides, we just wanfed -to te.41 you we ) ) fhinIc you're. terrific. (

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3 3 ) 3,24 CHAPTER 2

THE PHILOSOPHY AND BACKGROUND OF THE REFORM

IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

wherein the seeds of new thought grounded in philosophical soil begin to sprout to bring to all students the joys once possible only to the elec t

r) 1-./ f LEVELS OF LITERACY

Illiterate Functional Average Full Literacy

Examples Fill out Read best- Critical of what one job forms seller reading can do thinking Write letter writing to Mom

How to move Language Change of to next level experiences attitude

"I am a person who uses books to get smarter."

Level I Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

(Details explaining this chart are in Appendix B.)

26 Chapter 2

PHILOSOPHY AND BACKGROUND OF THE REFORM

IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

Wholehearted support and timely implementation of the Model Curriculum Standards (MCS) depend on an indepth understanding of these standards. ThJ MCS document itself includes background information on the origin of the MCS statement, its mandate from Senate Bill 813, the list of advisory staffthat hammered out its rationale and substance, the standards themselves and teaching activities which make specific the intent of the standards. This document is alsothe source of a suggested reading list which highlights

okinds of readings drawing on some 700 books--core, extended, and recreational reading oways of organizing literature courses--thematically, by genre, by author, etc. Many good teachers have always taught literature according to the model standards; many ethers need to be introduced to their change of emphases. Some of the latter, trained during the excesses of the "formalism" school, have concentrated on the minutiae of form and technique at the expense of genuine understanding of meaning. Also in many cases substantive reading has been ignored amidst the programmed approaches to basic skills, especially in thecase of underprepared students.

This chapter offers specific background and understanding of the Point of View of the new English program:

oThe rationale oThe goals oThe implementation This is the first publication of the point of view for K-12.

27 3 G L POINT OF VIEW:

ENGLISH AND LANGUAGE ARTS

(K12)

The best education for the best is the best education for the many. --R. M. Hutchins

I. INTRODUCTION

A shift toward high-quality learning materials, more rigorous and systematic instruction, and expectations of real student competence characterize the reform in the English/Language Arts curriculuminCalifornia public schools. The main features of such a curriculum include

o A systematicliterature program based on intensive reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as well as an individualized, extensive reading program.

o A clearly communicated sense of common values and common goals. Respect for diversity.

o A list of literary works central to our culture, of high quality, demanding serious thought and writing.

o Access to significant works and human issues for all students, albeit through various approaches. Writing proficiency for all.

o A meaning-centered approach, whereskills are developed in context, and where higher-level thinking is essential, where life experience and literature are integrated.

o Emphasis on delight in language, individual voice and style in writing. Well-written texts and "real" books used in all classes.

These features are designed to remedy deficiencies which have marked many English programs in the recent past.Such programs were often characterized by a fragmented English curriculum with a proliferation of courses, arbitrary, even trivial

1: 37 goals and standards, ever-easier texts,an unconscious caste system serving the best to the college-bound and false basics to slower students,a formalistic approach to both literature and composition, and the development of mechanicalwriting styles.

In an exemplary school program, students studyliterature every year.They study whole works ratherthan merely anthologies of excerpts. Instruction emphasizes intensive reading and discussion, and studentswrite frequently about the social issues and human values found in the worksread. All students participate in a systematic reading program includinga required core of literature and a large selection of self-chosen books and speeches read forpleasure and insight.Such a reading program will provide the future adult generation (1)with a solid body of knowledge derived from a common cultural heritage; (2)experience in confronting important human issues and conflicts; (3)a strong sense of values, including personal, social, and aesthetic values; and (4) thenecessary language and thinking skills acquired through frequent, meaningful writing, reading,speaking and listening. By implementing such a program, educatorscan meet their responsibilities o to individual students who have a right to thebest of their heritage and who must be challenged to reach theirhighest potential

o to the state which can expect informed and thoughtfulcitizens o to our future increasingly information-based society which needsa people who can interpret facts, not just recitethem; who have values, not just egos; who spend work and leisure timeas fully developed human beings, not as victims of media andtechnology. The emphasis on content in language doesnot mean a neglect of language skills. The skills will be learned where theywill "take"--in the context of significant learning as opposed to isolated drills. Thus, the basics willnot be neglected, the true basics being the ability to read with understanding,to listen with purpose, to write with one's own voice, to speak with influence,and to be able to use in public life the conventionsof standardEnglish--itsproperidiom,vocabulary,spelling,and mechanics.

Such a comprehensive, systematicprogram has important implications o for the legislature which must provide fundingfor libraries, for classroom literary texts, and for teacher training,both prescrvice and inservice

29 o for statewide, district, and school-testing programs, whose tests mustreflecttherigor and substantivenature of the new literature-based curriculum

o for school districts, which must revise thei curricula and draw on their unique resources and talents in order to meet the special needs of local students, in addition to following the goals of the statewide curriculum

o for department heads and teachers whose knowledge, enthusiasm, and commitment atone can motivate students to do the hard work implied

o for parents from wham, children learn that reading is both magic and mainstay, that writing is a natural part of contemporary life, and that all children are worthwhile enough to earn the best we can give them. Such an English program will affect publishing companies, for they will need to furnish quality texts; librarians whose stock of contemporary and classic paperback books will need constant attention; universities who train our teachers and who should provide continuing contact with schools to update education and revitalize morale; and, perhaps, film makers whom we challenge to make high-quality films based on the important literary works, in order to make these works more accessible to all students.

The Need For A Strong Elementary and Junior High Program

Although the curriculum standards were written first for secondary schools, their full implementation depends on the work of junior high and elementary schools. The task of ensuring "cultural literacy" belongs to all educational levels, but it can be seen as a special mission of the great generalists in the grade schools. This literacy is what Thomas Jefferson called "general education to enable every man (and woman) to judge for himself (and for herself) what will secure or endanger his (her) freedom," and what Mortimer Adler calls basic schooling.It means the broad acquaintance with shared background knowledge.It requires literate, knowledgeable teachers.Their teaching of many things widely shared in the culture gives their students access to public understandings, but it doesn't mean "covering" tons of

39 material; instead, it goes hand-in-glove with intensive learning.*Younger students are eager to acquire broad, if not profound, information of the world andcan easily absorb and remember it.Grade school teachers offset television diets by nourishing fare--literature and the study of 1,nguage as the foundation forall future learning. Since language arts are the means by which all disciplinesare pursued, they are exciting, useful, and absolutely central toour lives. To the acquisition of cultural literacy may be added (1) thetasks of personal literacy--the child made aware of his unique identity, talents,and goals, and (2) "vocational literacy"--the ability to think, read, write, listen, andspeak intelligently; these abilities are needed for making any kind of living and life. From the beginning, children read to learn and write to learn: o Elementary school teachers should teach high-quality works which willengagepupils'minds andhearts. Althoughchildren's developmental interests and needs vary, theyare merely younger people, not a different species. Childrenare not likely to believe that reading is worthwhile when presented with Spot, Jane, Dick, and Puff.Children's classics, from fairy tales and myths to Charlotte's Web and The Wind in the Willows, when readto or with children,will undo the damage done by ill-used readability formulas.Whole works will develop and motivate students' minds betterthanwilltheprograms presented bymost ofthe commercial technologies.

o Very young children can write when their meaning is thecentral focus.They should not be inhibited from expressing themselves because of excessive concern for propriety and correctness before they have a chance to internalize the code. Research in language learningandacquisitionindicatesthatthemost effective sequenceisfirst,fluency; second,organization; andthird, mechanical and grammatical correctness.

The junior high years, for tco many students the "drop-out"years, challenge a teacher's ingenuity and stamina. Wide experimentationmay be necessary until more is known about how best to engage fully the milids and hearts of allstudents. Getting them ?locked on books at this age is especially crucial.

* Consider both the vague gc'neral knowledge neededto get the sense of these phrases and the deeper knowledge needed to resonate to their implications:his deadly odyssey, the Faustian mind,a regular Boston Tea Party, c "rose by any other -ame " DonJuan,Rome, an albatross around her neck, a Cinderella life.

4 0 o Junior high school students must do frequent recreational reading --the single strongest correlate to good writiry 'n adult life. They need theirinterests attended to and focaaed,their energies harnessed, and their burgeoning ideals and questions attended to. They do not need a rehash of elementary materials nor watered- down secondary work.Curriculum specialists need to create a strong reading, writing, speaking, and listening program at this level.With the ability to decode text automatically, and a well- developed habit of reading and writing, the junior high students will be prepared for their high school years.

IL RECOMMENDATIONS: THE MAJOR GOALS OF THE NEW ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS CURRICULUM

L Students should study intensively a central core of works which embody significant cultural and personal concerns

The best literary works include both traditional and contemporary works, as well as representative good writing from science and the humanities. These readings focus the curriculum.Engagement in the significant human issues and conflicts presented by these works focuses the nading, writing, and oral/aural tasks of the courses.Formal concerns such as genre, plot structure, types of characterization, kinds of meter must serve the need to understand the meaning of the works and not dominate classroom time. The great works of literature are great because they offer powerful insights into ourselves, our neighbors, and the large world around us. Taught as embodiments of the central human issues and values, these works are the heritage of every person in this country. Their authors know how to use language to nourish both intellect and feeling and to satisfy a longing for beauty and form.

2.Students should participatein a systematic reading program including and going beyond the core, a program designed by their teachers to examine human issues that arise in literary works and in their own lives.

Teachers stand as great mediators between the universality of the text and the uniqueness of the growing persons before them.Teachers should not dominate classroom discussions, but th' y, their departments, their districts need to choose a core of works significant to their students, professionally designed and sequenced over the years to immerse all students in the best works, fiction and nonfiction. 32

4 Y. Duplication in teaching core works is avoided and much thought is givento the core of knowledge, values, and issues being taught. Only teacherscan draw from the real world of their students. Only they can enhance understanding and excitement.They know how to lead students from confinements of ego and class to confrontation with ideals, problems, questions, and pleasures that have intriguedthe best minds. Teachers embody various styles, values, and interests; they need to teach inways that make their excitement contagious.If teachers themselves have a thorough grounding in the best that has been thought and said, theycan choose wisely those works which will best stretch and stimulate the minds of theirstudents; they can help students see the vital connections between reading and world, thoughtand action.A suggested statewide reading list has been created to assist in compiling district lists from which to make these choices.

3. Students should participate in an extensive individualized reading programsupported by an amplelibrarysystem,including classroom, school, and community libraries.

One of the happier findings of recent research is that recreational reading is of utmost importance. When anxiety about language is absent and meaning isforemost, as is true in reading for one's own enjoyment, readers internalize the conventions (like spelling and mechanics), the sentence structures,and the stylistic devices of the language.Such readers tent to make good writers (see Ftephen Krashen's Writing: Research, Theory and Application).This finding has important consequences for homes, libraries, and educational institutions. A major effort, it suggests,must be to help students find books that speak to them--to get eachone "hooked on books." Contradicting some earlier guesses about howwe learn, studies now indicate that most language skills are not learned directly.Language is simply too complicated for conscious learning; but given the vehicle of meaningfulness,the linguistic mind gradually acquires a storehouse of knowledge ofmessage, genre, vocabulary, syntax, style, usage, and mechanics. Certain aspects of languagemay need to be consciously learned, but without a storehouse of internalized readings,such learning is shallow- like memorizing musical notes withoutever having heard music. From infancy, children learn language quickly, largelybecause it rewards them --with cookies, affection, and understanding.From the beginning of their school years, likewise, language learning should be rewarding.Above all, children should

..,.... 42 read to learn (not just read to learn forms) and write to learn (not just write to do an assignment).

4. Students should actively engage in the organized study of human issues that arise in literary works and in their own lives by reading, speaking, listening, and writing.

This recommendation is not a return to the old make-'em-read-a-klok-and-do- a-book-report method of boring students. John Good lad, in A Place Called School, reported the sight of schoolrooms filled with droning teachers and passive students. The new curriculum must keep students active,involved, and, when possible, excited.There must be no inert ideas, which are "ideas that are merely received into the mind without being utilized, or tested, or thrown into fresh combinations." * The main ideas studied in literature should be much emphasized; they should be those which students make their own and understand how to apply in their lives. Students need to experience the joy of discovery.They need to work inductively to an appreciation of values.Thus students learn to listen sensitively, to speak both formally and informally, to read widely, and to write frequently in order to integrate what they learn.Although the classroom may seem a constraining place, it has the great resource o' student peers persons of similar age and background for learners to talk to, read with, listen to, and share writing with. Teachers play a major role in making the texts accessible and moti Itingwhcther by clarifying vocabulary, describing the social context in which the work was written, or focusing on central themes through careful questioning. But essential for mastery is extended activity by the student, whether through discussion or dramatizing, through written analysis, or through formal reports.

5.All students receive the same essential education in fine readings, solid issues, and meaningful writing, although the approach varies according to individual needs.

*Alfred North Whitehead, The Aims of Education (New York: Free Press, 1929), p. 1.

40 The emphasis on mastering core texts and wide readingdoes not imply a classroom countdown on the number of books read,or a study of anthologized pieces of literature arranged for historicalpurposes, or a formalistic approach stressing literary terms and techniquesas such.It implies a thorough understanding of the substance of the great works: their meaning for theperson and their messages for society. What it means to be a human being, how lifeis to be lived, the steps to take to ensure the endurance of life on this planet, and,less seriously, how to enjoy words, characters, and ideas--these are some issues thecore works make accessible. An expectation of failure keepsmany students passive, um", illing to exert the necessary effort.What successful readers do automatically, all studentscan do if taught how: to read for meaning and to integratenew knowledge with what they already know. The great works, though often difficult,are seldom boring. To make them accessible to students, we need not bring inthe reading technologists nor buy watered-down versions. By full use of classroomresources and available media, the text can open up even to relatively poor readers. Withthe contemporary return to a more oral/aural world, we now appreciate the values of speechand literature read aloud, values that are lost in silent reading.Thus, teachers at all levels need not hesitate to read aloud, to have choral readings, to askstudents to perform aloud, to use film dramatizations, and to offer abundant backgroundinformation, giving their classes the understanding of issues, terms, andperspectives needed to help them fully comprehend what they read. Theanswer for students who have not yet learned to read very well is not to push them back to basicshort paragraphs but to find what is truly interesting to themas whole human beings and to read with them at first, show them films, have them dramatize certainparts, allowing much discussion of their world as it relates to the world of thetext. Teachers as adults know what students cannotyet know: the rewards of an educated imagination. Teachers know that wisdom iscumulative and that sensitivity grows as we connect with the lives of the great thinkers. Theyshould feel confident in their right to represent the vast heritageand to pass it on to the next generation.

6.Students should write often about importantissues to discover their own meanings and styles.

Great gains have been made in the lastten years in California through the efforts of the California Writing Project.In insisting on a content for writing, the

4Y new literature-based English program should not lose the gains of the Writing Project. Key principles of the project continue:

o Writing is not a one-shot attempt, but a process.It requires adequate input (reading, discussion, debating). Itrequires time for genuine thinking--that is, time for ideas to incubate, often through draft after draft. Growth in writing often occurs during the revision stage, especially when revision means re-vision, seeing again what is wanted in terms of meaning and organization. The formal and mechanical tasks are best left to the editing stage in order not to squelch the use of writing as a tool for discovery, learning, thinking.

o The Writing Project attests that the best teacher of teachers is another teacher. Successfulteachingideas come from the classroom, not necessarily from the theorists.These teachers must themselves write--if only to be able to discriminate, from personal experience, between useful and worthless suggestions which textbooks offer writers.

o The project encourages the use of daily journals or learning logs, peer groups used in the revision stages, and files of student writing, the best being periodically "published," at least for the classroom audience.

The MCS' emphasis on reading literature will enhance writing because the host of good literary readings provides exceller models of style, helps students acquire a sense of audience and shows them what an individual voice sounds like. Students see how t,) write vivid description, imaginative narrative, persuasive argument, clear exposition, and how important style is to substance. The basic purposes for writing are to help students

o communicate with others

o engage in a discovery process which clarifies thinking; increases knowledge, and deepens understanding

o develop a love of language and the ability to use it with pleasure and power--in other words, to write with style

45 While the first purpose is self-evident, the second and thirdmay not be. In the process of ordering their thoughts while composing, writers arrive at a better understanding of the subject they are addressing--a process of "coming to know." They generate ideas before they write and they revise these ideas and generatemore as they write. Writing, then, is a tool for learning in all subject matter areas.

The third purpose may need the most explanation. Anyone witha statewide--or nationwide--view of the overall quality of writing achievedeven by top-ranking professionals hastofeel dismayed. The official national style seems to be bureaucratic jargon.Textbooks, memos, documents, even dissertations show this. Or, at the other end of the scale, to paraphrase Richard Lanham, the national language resembles a bubble-gummers' convention where everybody says, "Ya know," and nobody knows.High style may be unachievable, somehow innate, or given to very few, but surely something can be done if we encourage pleasing verbal expression from preschool to professional school. If young children were frequently exposed to"the best words in the best order"--to poetry or its relatives; if the textbooks (which they study closely) avoided the mechanical voice and the bureaucratic jargon; if parents and teachers showed their enthusiasm for the well-turned expression; if writing teachers themselves labored to acquire a human voice and humane writing style, then withinone generation we could ensure better writing.Those with important things to say--in every arena--could say them lucidly and memorably through a palatable style. Style cannot pretendto outweigh content or the abilityto argue coherently and persuasively.But it makes memorable whatever is worth saying.And it makes communication more vital, interesting, and fun.

Most of the stylistic resources one acquires come through reading.Thus, the well-written, central core texts have an important influence on writing. But direct attention paid to style during the revision stages of writing makes tacit knowledge of style overt.This means our young writers learn to put pressure on themselves to write more forcefully and gracefully when itis important to "publish" for an audience. Arguments or including some attention to style in all English/Language Arts classes are these:

37 4 6' o Style feeds motive. Johnny and Susie will work very hard if they know that what they produce will finally be special, a unique reflection of themselves. When what they produce ends up looking like everyone else's writing--or worse, like textbook writing, why should they continue?Prose styleisa presentation of self. (Writing style is seen as one's very own; skills are mainly what society wants.)

o Any worthwhile content, to be memorable and widely read, needs a worthy vehicle stylistically.The much-quoted writers in any field tend to be fine stylists (as is scientist Lewis Thomas, for exwa.ple).Turgid prose prevents much that is valuable from ever being read--or understood.

o Awareness of their own ability to use words in powerful ways will make students wary of politicians doing likewise.Politicians sometimes enraptureaudiences by an engagingstylewhen substance is lacking.

o Just as the primary goal of the literary curriculum is to foster a lifelong love of reading, so too a lifelong love of writing should be a goal of the composition curriculum; this result is possible if play and delight are part of writing.Emulation of good student and professional writing is satisfying.Close modeling of favorite authors is often a part of a writer's long-range writing process of growth. From many imitations, students, as well as professional writers, may build a stylistic repertoire from which to create their own richly authentic style.

7.Students should experience a variety of literary genres from myth to drama, from essay to biography.

Although the state's suggested reading list may seem to emphasize the novel, all genres should be taught. Students need to experience the many forms writers use in order to expres3 fully their knowledge of the world.Districts and departments should select works appropriate to their systematic reading program. They should try to interrelate texts so the students may see a few important ideas in many possible combinations. Thus such ideas can be fully assimilated and become part of students' lives beyond classroom doors.

8.Students should examine a variety of perspectives presented in finewritingsdonebyscientists,historians,philosophers, economists, and others.

38 k.' 4'; The literary point of view is enriched and balanced by being contrasted with perspectives from the other humanities and from science--and viceversa. The real- world issues raised in literature gain depth and substance formany students when voices of economists, social scientists, psychologists, physicists, and politicians,for example, all address the same concerns.

Good writing--that is, prose written in a lucid,even graceful, style--is found in all disciplines and can lead students to deeper comprehension andto emulation.

9.Students have ample opportunityto develop proficiencyin speaking and listening.

The ability to speak well has always been the mark ofan educated person. But with the advent of the new age of oral communication, the need for bothspeaking and listening proficiencies acquires a new urgency. Weare bombarded with sounds- - for good and ill.And sound is the natural vehicle for learning. By learning to listen carefully, students acquire models of the thinkingprocess as well as models of speaking style and substance. By speaking, informally and formally,they prepare to take some control over their own lives; they also learn howto influence others. The central works of literature (including the great speeches),as well as the world around them, provide many issues individual students need to wrestlewith. By speaking to the issues before writing about them, students receive audienceresponse. They have an opportunity for sharing disciplined thought that can be challenged--or emulated- by their peers.

10.Students should grow continually in their ability to interpret and use new words though direct classroom instruction.

As there are literary and historical works central toour society, so there are words that form the very coin of educated interchange. Wordsare ideas.Consider theconceptsinherentinlearningthewordsirony,fusion,iatrogenesis, existentialism, and archetype. New vistasare opened for students as they come to understand the %istory and roots of word; and to handle relatedtools--the various dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary,thethesaurus, and books celebrating the fun of words.In trying to extend vocabularies, teachers themselves

39 4J model precise word use.It is in the living relationship between teacher, student, and text that growth best occurs. Vocabulary introduced in context, when it is needed to understand an essay or story, is learned naturally.

11. Students should be taught directly appreciation of language as language: grammar, structures, and history of the language, and also many of the necessary language skills when these have not been acquired through reading.

Although the major part of every course should emphasize reading, writing, and speaking, sometimes, the direct teaching of skills and of language as language may be necessary.Many of the finer points of language are not learned indirectly by reading.The use of the conventions of mechanics, spelling, and precise diction (as well as a wide vocabulary) mark to the outside world the literate person. Most of the conventions taught asdrill simply do not stick--they are too boring and too abstract.But they can be directly taught during the editing phase of writing when the student sees the necessity for applying them..Certain errors made by many students will need direct classroom instruction. Grammar, the formal knowledge of the language, no longer has the vJ:despread respect it once had, largely because an enormous number of studies have shown it hqs little effect on writing improvement.But as language appreciation, grammar still has a place. To prevent excessive time given to grammar, perhaps a separate course called language appreciation in the junior high years or for one semester in high school might be useful.Such a course might teach the history of the language, the similarities and differences among languages, the study of structure, both on the sentence level and beyond, and the differences in the ways societies and individuals organize their writing and speech. All peoples, s'udents will realize, are both limited and freed by their languages.Studying how languages change is also exciting. Knowing why change happens and that :t Nill continue to happen frees students from the excessive devotion to forms, and from the inhibiting effect of rule-makers. A study of language acquisitioa and of true bilingualism ties English courses to foreign- language courses and teaches respect for other ethnic groups.

.i2.Students should participate in specialized cwrses which help them integrate their skills and allow them to pursue their own interests: speech/rhetoric, composition, drama, creative writing, and journalism.

49 Many specialized courses can also promote writing, listening, and speaking skills.These courses can be based on literary sources, but can also be based on features unique to the particular subject or class. Some students need the real-world emphasis found in classes in journalism, drama, creative writing (short stories, poems, and novels), advanced composition, and speech classes.

IIL IMPLEMENTING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS

L District and school personnel must select a core of literary works to be read by all students. The first step in implementing this systematic program of intensive reading is for districts and English departments to decide which works shall be studied when. We must choose, yet choice is not easy. The literature we choose mirrorsour values, our notions of who we are and where we are going as people.Reading to enlarge experience, to confront great issues,to enjoy the panorama of , great human comedy, to test moral convictions, and to watch the rainbow-change of artistic consciousness is the goal of a reading program. But those most directly responsible for education must decide %:,:ch works to toa;11 when, and how best to teach them. The list of ck.70 works suggested by the State Department of Education irk:hides a first level of books and authors that transcend timeeven as they embody their times; books which have changed not only our ideas but the.anguage used to construct our ideas. These books embody

ouniversality o power

opermanence Works like those of Shakespeare, Homer, and the biblical authors from world literature, and those of Thoreau, Mark Twain, and William Faulkner from American literatureareclearlyfirst-rate. Thus,thefirst-level works should be read thoroughly and comprehended in-depth by all our secondary students (at least half of Whom will have no chance later to study them--either because they do notgo to college or because, once there, they don't study literature).A range of cho;ces allows teachers freedom to teach what excites th, and their classes.

41 50 2. District and school staff should select works from which students can choose individually.

After choosing which works will form a core of the high school English program and at what grade level each will be taught (while allowing some flexibility for teacher's preference), the decision makers should construct two other list:

o The great works from which students will choose individually --the works on this list should attract students as well as challenge them.

o The books students read mainly for enjoyment--a much larger list of works, accessible to adolescents, worth their time, and likely to make life-long readers of them.

3. The staff must establish the number of works to be read before gracitati.on.

The districts need next to establish standards as to the number of works required. For example, after selecting some 200 works for general recommendation, the administrators and teachers might decide that some 100 works, from various genres (novels, books of poetry, plays, essays, great speeches), need be read before graduation, with the college-bound students reading more books and more complex ones. Students would never again boast about leaving our great and expensive public schools without :laving digested a single whole book.English teachers would no longer feel frustrated and isolated in their mission of passing on the culture in all its diversity.With statewide implementation of the English/language arts reform, all students would have more equal access to cult, ral treasures--as well as to college and better jobs. Because the new curriculum is both extensive and rigorous, serious thought must be given to balancing all its demands, such as the number cf class hours available and the length of assignments at each level.

4. School districts should maintain a program of staff development.

With support from districts, departments, universities, and especially from various professional development progrars, all teachers need to decide how to teach the important works.Their own values, insights, and enthusiasm are central.All

42 students learn first how teachers feel abeitt their subjJet. The words of the pastare made living, as it were, in them.Many excellent teachers have always made literature live for their students.Their talents and ideas are at a premium. These exemplary teachers and their programs will need to be found and emulated. The new curriculum puts a premium on certain abilities: for example, the abilityto ask good questions, even Socratic questions, the kind of open-ended question that helps students arrive at genuine understanding. Information is onlya tool toward deeper insight.

5. Teacher trainers must educate English teachers in the details of the recommended curriculum.

Teacher training institutes, both preservice and inservice, will need to help teachers investigate the core works, deemphasizing formalistic concerns in favor of meaning-centered teaching.

Summary

A reform or redirection in the English/Language Arts curriculum should not reflectnegativelyontheexcellentand hard work done byteachers and administrators of this state.The state English curriculum has needed more focus, direction, and rigorous standards. The great works need to be made available to all. But no imprJvement will be made without a thorough understanding of and sympathy for the spirit, if not the letter, of this document. Most teachers, by nature of their choice of profession, are altruistic.With their support and enthusiasm, we can increase significantly the level of student literacy. Thoreau's spirit must beours: so worthwhile is the individual child that the resources of the whole universeare barely adequate to our task of teaching.

1 * *

43 52 SPECIFIC IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAMS

To further the implementation of the MCS, yearly literature institutes and conferences are offered statewide by the California Literature Project. The fruit of the first California Literature Institute may be seen throughout this book.During thefirst conferencein 1985, experts from all over the country grappled with questions facing us. The following conference summary gives a sense of some issues and answers.

A FORUM FOR INQUIRY: THE LITERATURE CONFERENCE

June 24-28, 1985, at UCLA

The keynote to the conference was sounded by Superintendent Bill Honig in his opening address summarized in Chapter 1.The remaining speakers addressed these questions.

1. Why continue to teach literature in a world that glorifies science, computers, mathematics, and technology, and that finds in television so much of its entertainment and information?

2. What do we teach, given the many cultures, values, interests, and destinies represented by the students in our classrooms?

3. How shall we teach so that all our students actively learn the centralissues,values, and lifelong rewards fo be found in good literature? Sponsored by both the State Department of Education and UCLA's Office of Academic Interinstitutional Programs, the conference gathered 400 administrators and teachers statewide to hear some 50 speakers and presenters and to share in small seminar groups to hear ideas and responses.The chief responses made to the question of why teach literature are:

o To transmit real culture (not the plastic world view offered by some media) and real choices.Students make connections between literature and their lives that help them shape their emotions, broaden their horizons, understand persons different from themselves, develop a sense of beauty, form, and purpose. They see alternative lives and lifestyles.

53 o To learn how to learn.Both the job world and colleges require fairly sophisticated problem-solving, reading and writing abilities.If the human mind is an artist creating its inner world and checking it against the outer world (Frank Smith), then a most natural, enjoyable way to stretch the mind is through ,he world's literature.Authors createwiththeirfullyfleshed presentations of social problems, interpersonal relations, political insight and cultural backgrounds. This kind of learning sinks deeper then mere factual presentations.

o To enjoy a form of reading that never grows stale, is well-nigh infinite, and whose delights are fully human, rich, and life-long.

Why Should We Teach Literature?

More specifically, Carol Rigelot from Princeton Univers, quoted Horace who said we read for usefulness and pleasure. Books give us enjoyment and information, satisfy our intellectual curiosity, and help us understand differences.They are "a static free channel to another's mind." The great books of the world help us define contradictory forces within us--and they help the adolescent to define who he is in the world.Plots which deal with choices to be made, existential perspectives to be examined, or rites of passage from childhood to maturity to be explored - -all help young people gain insight which they might have missed otherwise. Literature gives students, finally, a global perspective and helps them become more eech day of their lives. Enrique Hank Lopez, a lawyer and writer (whose untimely death in October, 1985, saddened us all), addressed the idea of the relationshipbetween self and society. He relivedfor us his association with the world of stories from his childhood, especially the way he and his friends--in junior high--met together to read great plays.With his personal reminiscences, he showed the advanced cognitive growth possible for the bilingual child. He reminded Ls of Thomas Mann's words that "the danger of formal education is that you get light and no heat." He urged us to remember that good literature gives us a warmth and this warmth is for all children. Frank del Omo, a Los Angeles Times writer, and Toni Cook, a political scientist, also focused on their ethnic backgrounds. Although each as a child came from a different lifestyle, both speakers were encouraged to read in their homes. From the reading of fiction for pleasure, both moved to the reading of nonfiction for information.Mr. del Omo stressed the importance of imitation of literature in the

45 4 process of beginning to write, and Cook described social and political issues which engage young people. Philosopher Robert Fancher argued that reading sophisticated works enhances a kind of thinking that we need in everyday life. He explained that since educators see learning as systematic and abstract, there is a general uneasiness about the worth of studying literature.The usefulness of abstract thinking must be put in perspective, and we must realize that most of the thinking people do in their daily lives is concrete and not abstract.What happens to a person is always based upon real events.Literature helps to interpret these events because it depicts particular happenings about particular characters. The writer is in a perpetual search for truth, asking continually what is it that matters in life. And this search is whatwe are all about as thinking creatures.We respond individually to the ways concrete things hang together in terms "of Mattering." Literature gives us a full embodiment, a full exemplification, a full display of the possiblities. The contributions to thinking that literature makes help improve our self-image and provide an understanding, not only of ourselves, but also others, so that, finally, we can have options inour choices in the world.

ProfessorMichael Allenfrom UCLA drewonShakespeare'sworksto demonstrate how great literature helps us cope with our feelings and the often inexplicablefortunes oflife. Shakespeare portrays complex,subtle,diverse responses to absolutely believable events and in that portrayal shows us alternate ways of responding--in ways less simplistic than those found elsewhere. Carlos Fuentes, renowned author and diplomat, discussed our Pan-American heritage, comparing the role of Hispanic-American writers to that of Irish writers like William Butler Yeats, Galway Kinnell, and George Bernard Shaw. Writers like Jorge Borges and Octavio Paz, he said,are the Irishmen of literature who will make it impossible for North American literature to fall asleep. He also analyzed Latin America's search for modernity. The search is a turbulent one ina culture wherein the common good must wrestle against individual and private purposes--a culture in which both Catholic and Marxist influences are strong.Hence, its literature is extraordinarily vital.He listed for us a multitude of Latin-American writers whose works we might include in our own curriculum to make it more complete. And he noted that Curvantest Don Quixote was the first modern novel.

46 What Shall We Teach?

Mortimer Adler set before the audience a range of significant works detailed in hi; book The Paideia Program. Some early Greek works address modern problems and some nonliterary works invite the kind of reflective reassessment of life's meaning called for in the new classroom. What we should teach includes knowledge, skills, and wisdom, and for each Adler recommends a different kind of learning and teaching.He noted that now about 85 percent of our teaching is didactic."The notes of the teacher become the notes of the students, without passing through the minds of either."The three kinds of learning and teaching necessary if we are to achieve the goal that school is a place where the habit of learning is fostered and acquired are these:

o Acquisition of information and organized knowledge is aided through didactic teaching, through lecture and discussion; this is the least enduring way of learning and hence the least powerful way of teaching.

o Formationofintellectualskills(reading,speaking,writing, listening). Coaching is necessary for habit formation here, justas it is in sports. o Enlargement and enhancement of understanding through Socratic questioning.

Schools must offer equal education for all students and they must return to liberal, humanistic studies--"generalist thoughts" which free the human mind in all fields of learning.To set these changes in motion, schools must have, as leader, the best teacher in the school, the headmaster in the true sense of the word: the principal. His example should give direction to all.And teachers themselves must read and discuss excellent works. Richard Yarborough and Paul Lauter focused on the contributions of blacks, females, and working-class authors--three groups ignored when the literarycanon was shaped by white males. All students must read literature written by women and minority writers to enlarge the limited perspectives and values portayed by the white male Anglo-Saxon Protestant tradition.Principles to guide selection of works in our classrooms include o works reflecting the diversity of our American cultural heritage o works honoring the value of the female perspective o works creating an awareness of regional diversities. The extraordinarily bleak nihilism of much modern fiction and the male bias in all the hunting, journeying, violent stories, need balance from other writers. Galway Kinnell, award-winning poet and teacher, reflected on his personal canon.HP shared the "secret readings" of his youth--the works of Poe, Eliot, and Yeats.As he read his own poems and talked about his life, he reminded us that poetry comes not from inspiration alone but requires difficult and sustained work. Literature,, suggested Kinnell, should preserve its connections to the earthy, to the ground from which it springs. He urged us to make our classrooms true communities of trust and acceptance, where students feel free to write about their personal experiences and where good poetry that is also contemporary and relevant is shared with our students--a place where method and magic become one. Francie Alexander, State Department Director of Curriculum Instruction and Assessment, presented a clear and concrete system to be used to choose textbooks and literary works.She urged us to have a multicultural and interdisciplinary approach to our selection process. Literary works should be complete, and the power and beauty of language should be obvious.All our selections should encourage students to discuss, to listen, to read, and to write.Ms. Alexander also outlined a system for avoiding or coping with teaching controversial works. "The Enduring Canon: Shakespeare and The Bible" was the topic addressed by two community college teachers, Jo Ray McCuen and Lloyd Thomas. Dr. McCuen offered her sense of the Bible as an anthology of good literature and demonstrated how details of geography, historical events, delineations of fascinating characters, discussions of moral dilemmas and awareness of stylistic eloquence, enhance the beauty, knowledge and enjoyment of biblical tales.Dr. McCuen showed us how to draw on the mystery, romance, and adventure inherent in this work and argued that the Bible as literature is an excellent core work which can be used in any classroom. Dr. Thomas demonstrated how he gets every student, even "turned off" ones, to enjoy Shakespeare.His comparison of corporate leaders with Macbeth and Macduff gave a 1985 look to as interpretation of Macbeth.His focus demonstrated a major

48 theme in the Model Curriculum Standards--the search for personal meaning inour exploration of literature.

How Shall We Teach?

Barbra Morris, University of Michigan, demonstrated how she moves students from being hooked on television to becoming hookedon books.Television can be used to o create habits of critical viewing which then extend to critical reading; TV is a "text" too o motivate reading of works related to television programs o make students finally turn to non-television sources for pleasure and necessity.

Roberta Markman stressed thefact that reading--like writing--involves a gradual process of becoming more sophisticated. To demonstrateways of reading, she often begins with fairy tales, even for college students. These tales providea simple model for literary analysis and appreciation; theyease the way into complex works.Because the fairy tale is an extended metaphor, for example, studentssee more clearly how metaphors work.

Frank Smith, a reading researcher with far-reaching influenceon .he thinking behind changes inthe whole K-12 language arts continuum, questioned many approaches to teaching literacy in schools.All children: he said, should join the "literacy club," which has the qualities of all good clubs: o no risk o collaboration: all members, adults and children help each other o meaningful goals and activities o a sense of belonging: "You're one of us"; "I'm just like you." These qualities, he urged, should be found in every classroom.

A method of teaching h.ghly compatible with the MCS andone which is now being tested in many classrooms is that of Collaborative Learning (see Chapter 6).

49 J.Richard Lewis and Lynn Hammond described phases of thisprocess. In collaborative learning, students help each other toward a common goal; they become cooperative rather than competitive. Small group work--like Socratic questioning- requires careful preparation and patience, but once these methods become part of a teacher's repertoire, genuine learning occurs. No summary can do justice to any of the conference speakers, least of all to thefinal evening's address given by Dr. William Schaefer.Besides restoring the content of literature toits rightful place, he noted, we must also restore the context--its place in the great tradition we call the history of literature. We must remind students that great writers depend on other writers who came before them. We must begin to include women and minorities in the canon, not stopping until our choices reflect the realities of our country and world. The teacher of literature is doing the "most important thing"inthe universe, Schaefer stressed--teaching literature.Literature's role in developing imagination is one television is powerless to supplant. Finally, on the last day of the conference twenty demonstration lessons showed teachers superb ways of integrating literature, writing, and speaking. A few titles can show the range and specificity of the presentations: "Castles and Kings: "The Idylls of the King and Visual Approaches to Literature" "Dialogues, Monologues, and Dramatics" "Reading Without Basals" "Hooked on Books: An In-Class Approach to Minority Literature" "Shakespeare and the First Dove" "Computers and the Teaching of Literature."

$ 9 CHAPTER 3

THE ADMINISTRATOR

in which educational leaders explore a newly blazed trail to statewide excellence through a humane and human curriculum, neatly escaping the behaviorists' maze of mediocrity

51 60 THE ENGLISH PROGRAM

Personal Reading Skills Direct Program Teaching

Reading ALL Comprehension

Spelling Spelling

Listening Vocabulary

Literature (its meaning)_

Grammar Grammar (usage) (usage)

Writing Writing Style

Discussion Cognitive Development (getting -4, smarter)

Sustained Silent Reading

(Details explaining this chart are in Appendix 13.) s, 52 61 Chapter 3

THE ADMINISTRATOR

Administrators are already harried in these days of change, scrambling in a dozen directions to meet the demands of excellence. In this context, thenew Model CurriculumStandards(MCS)maylooklikeanadditionalburden,their implementation a further fragmentation of administrators' time andenergy.This chapter saves some of their precious time and energy by highlighting key aspects of MCS inaquestion/answerformat. Happily,italsodemonstratesthat implementation of MCS will coordinate their other efforts; the trail blazed here will carry other reforms a good distance toward the goal of excellence.

What are the Main Features of the MCS?

1. Students will systematically study literature every year of their high school careers.

2.Students will read extensively.

o They will read whole works, rather than snippets,books, rather than workbooks.

o They will read wor'.s that range from every genreof fiction to great speeches and significant writing in history, science,etc.; these reading choices will touch on our common cultural heritage,confront important issues, and produce a sense of va:les.

o Students will read a large number of such works each year.

3. Students will read intensively.

o For deeper understanding, their reading will be integrated with much writing and with speaking and listening.

o Reading for insight and meaning will call on students' higher-level thinking skills.

53 u62 4. The teaching approach will not be that of belles lettres nor of technical formalism but a humanistic approach, introducing students to works that th"ow light on the human condition, on the lives of the students. Active engagement of students in their learning, rather than passive listening to lectures, will be stressed.

5. The writing approach will emphasize writing as a tool to learning, to creating meaning in the student's own voice, rather than as an exercise in form. Students will receive, as needed, instruction at each stage of the writing process and particular help with correctness at the editing stage.

6. All students will participate in this program, the slow and the swift, the most and the least literate.Approaches to works and the ...avel of difficulty of the works will vary but all students will have access to significant reading and exposure to their cultural heritage; all wil: be expected to achieve writing, speaking, and listening proficiency.

Where Did the MCS Come From?

The MCS are a general response to the demand for a rigorous academic curric "lum; they are a specific response to Senate Bill 813 (The Hughes-Hart Educational Bill of 1983) which requires school districts to compare their local curriculum to the model standards at least once every three years.The bill's intention is to reestablish high expectations for course content and for student level of effort and performance.

ThestandardsforEnglish/LanguageArtsweredeveloped byadvisory committees appointed by Superintendent Honig, using grass roots input from teachers and administrators, consultations with nationally recognized experts, and field reviews by numerous school districts.

What is the Philosophy/Rationale behind the MCS?

First, that there is a core of knowledge, skills, and values that it is important for all students to learn;

54 Second, that all students should have the opportunity to learn this core; Third, that all students can profit from a rigorous academic curriculum that engages them in a common core of history, government, science, and literature. In the words of the MCS document: Wherever we have looked, we have seen an answer to our educational problems byreturningstudentsvigorouslyand intensively to the core of English/Language Arts--to the literary works that reflect the meaning and values the human race decides are worth transmitting.

What Status and Force do the MCS Have?

oThe standards are a model, not a mandate.As such, they reflect the strongest possible consensus about the content that every student should be exposed to before graduating from high school.

oAt this stage, administrators are asked only to compare their curriculum against the MCS. When the California Assessment Program (CAP) is revised toreflect these standards, school boards will want to have compatible curriculum standards.

oThey are intended far all students recognizing that some will progress beyond these standards and others will not meet or attain all of them.

oThey are "first edition," a newly developed set of standards that have yet to be tested and are sure to be further refined.

How Will the New English Program Guided by the MCS Address Other Concerns of Administrators? How Will It Promote Excellence?

Concerns MCS Literacy The systematic year-by-year saturation in reading and writing will strongly affect students' literacy. Need for Common Learning The systematic nature of the English program counters criticism about fragmentetion of learning andproliferationof courses;the MCS clearly communicate common goals. 55 Concerns (con c'd) MCS (cont'd)

Academic Rigor The rvICS embody the academic rigor called for by SB 813; they raise expectations for all students. The study of literary works central to our culture, high quality works, will demand serious thought and intensive reading and writing from students. Bored, Alienated Students Greater student involvement in their own learning and more meaningful course materials promise to decrease boredom and alienation. Recommendations of Such recommendations as increased writing, critical Commissions on Excellence reading and thinking, writing across the curriculum, activelearningandenlargementofstudents' general knowledge do not remain mere educational "buzz-words" but are built into the MCS. Performance on Tests The English Program's high standards and focus on critical reading and higher thinking skills promise to raise test scores:Educational Testing Service in 1984 claimed that decreased academic emphasis was the major factor for declining test scores. Equity of Opportunity Instead of an unconscious caste system with the best served to college-bound students and false basics served to slower students, the MCS offer access to significant works and human issues for all students.Whatever their future occupation, these students will be trained to think, will be more experienced readers and writers, and will have examined the cultural values that undergird our democratic society. Dissatisfaction with Some The MCS will obviate writing by formula, passive Characteristic Practices students doing busy work and overly form-centered in Some Old Curricula approaches to teaching literature.See Chapter 1 for illustrations of the reform in the curriculum. Low Teacher Morale Teachers are likely to experience camaraderie and support from their Professionals' Book Clubs and to enjoy the more interesting classroom material and their more creative role in the classroom. The Plethora of Reforms Micymakers are connecting and coordinating the variouspartsofthebroadefforttoattain excellence: the MCS, thenewgraduation requirements, the State Curriculum Frameworks, Textbook Standards, and statewide testing (CAP).

56 65 What Roles do Administrators Play in Implementing the Model Curriculum Standards?

Administratorsarethefirstonesintotheforest. Unlessprincipals, superintendents,curriculumandstaff development specialists,languagearts consultants, and department chairs go ahead to clear away the underbrush of obstacles and hew out their own particular versions andprograms modeled on the MCS, no one will follow.The administrators open up the MCS path for their faculties, students and communities. Without this leadership, the MCS trail willsoon dwindle out. The following model curriculum standards specifically call for administrative leadership.

1. Standard Number 4 asks that "Districts and departments selecta core of literary works, some of which are to be studied in-depth at each grade level and some of which students read on their own."

Administrators canlearn howtousethemodel booklistcalled Recommended Readings in Literature:Grades Nine throu IglsTwelve in pages E-5 through E-7 of The Model Curriculum Standards: English/ Language Arts.These pages also describe the setting of rigorous but attainable standards for the number and kind of works read. They detail how to select books for minority language students and howto include works that reflect equity in ethnicity, multiculture and gender.

2. Standard Number 10 states that "Districts and/or schools developa systematic writing program." Adminstrators need to involve themselves in determining these facets of the writing program:frequency of writing assignments, the number and types of assignments, writing across the curriculum, class size, language minority students, parent involvement, and their districts' rewarding good writing. (See pages E-14 through E-17 for m)re details.)

3. Standard Number 25enlistsadministratorsindevisingappropriate assessment for the new curriculum's new emphases.

Assessment methods and tools should be aligned with thenew emphasis (1) on substance,(2) on theintegration of writing, comprehension, and speaking, and (3) on contextual acquisition of vocabulary and technical skills... districts need to monitor in ways appropriate to each the success of the new program. (MCS, page E-32; see pages E-32 and E-33 formore details on such particulars as writing responses,essay questions, and student surveys.)

57 6G f ) I Besides these standards, administrators are urgently needed to support and promote the pedagogy designed to actuate all the standards in the classroom. Administrators can connect their faculty with the work of the California Literature Institute--its sample lesson plans, in-service workshops, demonstration teachers, Literature for All Students: A Sourcebook !'or Teachers, the many resources listed in this sourcebook, etc. In acting as catalysts for change, administrators can take some of the stress out of this change. One administrator advises: Start small.Start with teachers who are interested.Give them time to try out the ideas in the sourcebook. Encourage them to take the time and not to become discouraged.Students who have spent much of their education learning small skills, step by step, are not going to respond immediately to engagement with ideas.As teachers experiesice success, they will gain confidence and attempt more.These teachers will also serve as role models for their peers.Parents will sec the difference the new curriculum is making and encourage this kind of teaching.

What Help is Available to Administrators in the Implementation?

A newly established California School Leadership Academy holds great promise as a source of professional development for administrators. The academy, headed by State Superintendent of Public instruction Bill Honig, consists of an institute of training, development and research, and eleven regional administrative training centers (ATCs).The institute has developed a core curriculum in eight areas of instructional leadership: instructional mission, curr- ,,instruction, student progress, professional development, staff accountability,urent involvement, and school climate. The development of training programs is underway. The regional administrative training centers will provide these comprehensive training programs throughout the state.Administrators selected to participate will devote fifteen days each year for three years.Upon successfully completing the program, administrators will be inducted intothe California School Leadership Academy. For more information, contact School Leadership Unit, State Department of Education, (916) 324-6179.

67 111

Expert help is available through the region .1 directors and the UCLA and State Department of Education contacts listed at the end of this chapie:, through the cadre of 100 teachers trained through the California Literature Instituteto act as consultants.Other resources are listed in the last chapter of the Literature for All Students sourcebook. A primary source for book lists and suggestedcore readings is the MCS document.

What Would an Exemplary Program Look Like?

The Curriculum Implementation Center (CIC) for Language Arts located in San Diego and Orange Counties has prepared the preliminary criteria for identifying schools adhering to standards comparable to the MCS. Hereare their criteria: o The school has established a process/system for implementation of high standards in English/language arts, i.e., the school has budgeted fund:, to support this program, e.g., categorical funds, general funds, materials funds.

o The classroom teacher, site administrator, and parents have given inputto the implementation of these standards, including the review of their achievement by students.

o The district/school has established a system of ongoing staff development for English teachers. In-service introduction to the MCS is conducted bya language arts teacher schooled in the MCS. o The English teacher has access to personnel and materials in support of implementation, e.g., classroom libraries, additional literary materials in school l'brary, list of community resources, available classroom sets of literary works. Other desirable criteria:

o The scLool has implemented a strong language artsprogram (reading, writing, speaking, listening) across the curriculum.

o Technology is used in supot of the MCS, e.g., wordprocessors, video tapes, etc.

59 o A system for teachers to support one another has been implemented, e.g., the Professionals' Book Club.

Further Questions of a Practical Nature

How do I pay for the book and for ( 11 the staff development the MCS require? Gradually. This is primarily a new approach to teaching, not a general overhaul in the curriculum.A redirection of funds largely available should happen first. Schools which need monies to expand or start a program might consider private grants, adopt-a-school programs or book exchanges with another school.Parent groups may also be a source of funds. Organize a meaningful and effective program and itis surprising how funds will appear.Don't forget to keep your ear to Sacramento.

Do I have to move a lot of furniture and make room changes? For this approach to work best, teachers using it should be assigned classrooms with movable furniture and space for discussion groups and hands-on activities, but the program can be used in any classroom arrangement.I-night be dif zult in the gym. No special equipment is needed.

I .lon't have a class set of core books in my library

The books on the core list of the MCS are only suggestions.Each school district will want to and should organize its own core list.Teachers should begin with what is in the bookroom now.

Will the classrooms be noisy? The MCS encourage a more active classroom, yet still an orderly, courteous one. Research has shown that a meaning-based approach reduces discipline problems because students are more involved.It also requires a high degree of teacher supervision and involvement.

60 6 9 My parents insist on weekly spelling tests

The teaching of basic skills is not ignored. The MCS emphasizea shared body of knowledge as well as growth in specific skills.But the acquisition of skill grows out of the reading (see chart in Chapter 1). Through extensive re 'ding and writing, good spelling is acquired for life, not just learned for a test.

What about class scheduling? The MCS do not require a change in student programming. There is no need for students to be reschedules or for schools to reorganize unless the configurations selected require it.This can be as simple or as complicated as you choose to make it.

How can support personnel help? One way of involving other concerned persons on the staff is to mace them part of a literature team. The team will prcbably be composed of the teachers working with the MCS, librarian,curriculumspecialists,and administratorsdirectlyresponsiblefor instruction, but may certainly include others. The principal,as inst.uctional leader of the school, will want to share his/her expertise and set the tone for thisas well as any other curricular change or development.Teri.:hers, working with the principal and other appropriate support personnel, should determine the direction and focus of the team. The team can also function as an evaluation board to provide feedbackto individual teachers. The teachers often do a better job when they haveaccess to the thinking of a group.

Do you have any ideas for teacher in-service workshops? Teachers support what they know and understand.This needs to be kept in mind when planning ir.-service workshops. Here are some suggested topics:

o What are the Model Curriculum Standards? o Teaching Styles that Promote Learning o Teaching Styles that Promote Student Understanding of Literature o What the Professionals' Book Club does for Morale and Professional Growth o Integrated Curricula for All Classes o New Answers to Old Problems: Cooperative Learning 61 70 o Making Learning Manageable for All o How to Ease the Workload (Paper load) of the English Teacher

I see that the MCS recommend that all teachers work together to encourage the reading of good books. How do I get teachers other than those in English involved? The MCS document and the teachers' sourcebook have ideas for all classes. You might also consider

o Partnership teaching--Students in an English class read Uncle Tom's Cabin and students in American history discuss the book's role in the Civil War.

o An across-the-curriculum team--music, geography, and English teachers- plan and carry out a unit on folk tales.

o All-school activities--Student council sponsors an oral interpretation assembly using one of the thematic units suggested in the reading list.

o Exchange program--Tenth graders in a large metropolitan school might compare their responses to The Invisible Man by mail with the responses of tenth graders in a small rural school.Insight into divergent and similar viewpoints can serve as a catalyst to expansion of students' world views.

How can I get parent support? An aware and involved community is a supportive one. To keep the public in the know and interested, try these:

o Displays in schools, churches, and public buildings

o Letter -To parents describing the MCS program -To education reporters from local newspapers and television stations inviting them to visit classes -To local businessmen encouraging support of the program through donations

o Media

-Slide show for elementary/junior high schools -Newsletters reporting activities --Sales of paperback copies of core works

7 o Speakers

-Demonstration of how a good discussion of a book works -Discussion of the MCS literature program at community meetings

What are some other ways I can be involved?

While many administrators already do many of these things, andmore, others will want to do the following:

oTake part in a Professionals' Book Club

oOrganize and chairworkshopsforparents and community members describing the MCS

oSolicit donations for books and materials oHelp teachers obtain materials (wigs for play, turkeys fora Dickens' feast, films for enrichment)

oTalk informally to teachers and students about ideas they're discussing. This kind of talk will be surprising and nourish:rig to all concerned.

What are the Professionals' Book Clubs?

The format and rationalefor the Professionals' Book Club is outlined'... Chapter 4 of the sourcebook for teachers.It is something you might want to look into for your satisfaction and professional growth. It is also an excellent opportunity to find out in a nonthreatening way what is going on in the classroom.

The club is another way to keep abreast of the maso of books being publishedon education. Some administrators might be able to meet with colleagues to discuss only these types of books.Others might want to participate in PBC's in which a variety of books are discussed.Whatever you choose to read, it is a good way Lo keep up with what is being written, to make friends, and toease a little of the stress.

63 7° ; :4 Administration 3f the California Literature Project Regional Directors

John Angelo Salinas Union High School District Alisal High School 777 Williams Road Salinas, CA 93905 (408) 424-2811 Mary A. Barr San Diego County Office of Education 6401 Linda Vista Road, #405 San Diego, CA 92111-7399 (619) 292-3517

Mel Grubb Los Angeles County Office of Education 9300 East Imperial Highway Downey, CA 90242 (213) 922-6812

Lloyd Thomas UCLA OAIP Gay ley Center, Room 304 Los Angeles, CA 90024 (213) 825-2531 Hortense Thornton Department of English California State University at Sacramento 6000 "J" Street (916) 278-6586 Sacramento, CA 95819 (916) 278-6645

For general information, contact: Pat Taylor UCLA OAIP Gay ley Center, Room 304 Los Angeles, CA 90024 (213) 825-2531

For State Department of Education information, contact:

Mae Cundlach State Department of Education 721 Capitol Mall Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 322-4017

64 CHAPTER 4

THE TEACHER

in which the esteemed reader is invited to reflect on the situations of teachers new to English halls and to join professional "clubs" with an eye to raising the expertise and morale of the faculty and drawing them together

We begin with the "Confessions of a First-Year Teacher" and end with the "Confessions of a Twenty-Year Veteran"

65 j 7'i SYSTEMATIC WRITING PROGRAM

Frequent writing over time

fluency form correctness (writing for (acquired through (very little through thinking) reading) direct instruction)

Time on task sufficient preparation for writing (reading, quiet thinking, discussing) drafting (unpenalized) revising (often with peer response) editing

Attention to style poetry importan_ the best words in the best order playful side of words writing as presentation of self

Writing about worthwhile content to clarify thinking in all subject areas to discover what's important to remember

(Details explaining this chart are in Appendix B.) 66 75 Chapter 4

THE TEACHER

Confessions of a First-Year Teacher

Elizabeth Larkin

A week before school started, I signed a contract and began my first teaching assignment in a high school.I was both thrilled and frightened. Five classes of my own with no master teacher to take responsibility for the students if I somehow failed!I was a "real" teacher now, given keys, class rosters, and a grade book. Everyone treated me as if I knew what I was doing, although secretly I felt that Iwas barely keeping my head above water those first few months.Later in the year I branched out and became friends with an outstanding mentor teacher.After the countless lunch hours she spent listening to my tales of frustration and triumph and sharing with me her best teaching ideas. I realized what I had missed in not asking for help.I saw how mistaken I was that, in asking, others might think that I was an inadequate, poorly prepared teacher.

After a year of education classes and student teaching, I had formed myown notions about how literature should be taught based on my rather hazy memories of high school English mixed in with my experiences as a university student. In the back of my mind I believed that the "best" literature teachers--the ones with most knowledge--lectured.In reality, however, I found that lecturing bored both my students and me, destroyed the wonder and magic of literature, discouraged students from learning how to learn, and did absolutely nothing to enhancemy somewhat tenuous classroom control.I had to question whether my role as a teacher was to have absolute control and authority or to encourage learning through active student involvement. I now have learned what many effective teachers already knew, that the meaningful act of reading literature is the interaction between the print on the page

7G and the knowledge and experience of the reader. It is the teacher's job to clarify and enrich the students' responses.While part of this enrichment might include lecturing on background knowledge about the period, author, literary tradition, and structure, lecturing is not the literature teacher's primary responsibility.I needed to pay closer attention to my students' very valid responses to literaturewith the goal of developing confident and perceptive readers. My first step in actively inv'lving students in their learning was to plan lessons that involved group work. At the end of the exhausting first day of groups, I glanced out of the second-story window and noticed that the ground below was littered with dozens of paper airplanes and four dictionaries.I remembered an education p, °lessor once saying, "Rule number one when grouping students is absolutely never, under any circumstances, to turn your back on any of the groups!"I knellti groups could be successful and were an excellent way for.tudents to learn, but it was not until almost the end of my first year (after much trial and error and many paper airplanes and class periods of mild to sei ions bedlam) that I felt that I had begun to develop techniques that led to cooperative and productive group work.After surviving this first year, I now feel that I have just begun to learn the joyful art of teaching.

* * *

Strategies for Survival

Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. --Tennyson The English chi: sroom presents particular oblems. Often you ht,,e ten things going on at once, and you are wcrking with ideas, concepts, and opinions rather than simple, right-or-wrong answers.Asking "Why did Remarque wait until tb-last paragraph in All Quiet on the We:tern Front to kill off his protagonist?" is different from asking "What is the square root of 324?" Given the complexity of teachirg literature, an excellent first strategy is to read the Model Curriculum Standards document with its wealth of ideas. This source will help you with what to teach, why to teach it, and how to teach.Further strategies foliow.

77 Strategies in Approaching, Handling, and Evaluating the Curriculum

1.Know why you want to teach a certain work. Your sense of direction and timing will be stronger.For example, if you teach To Kill a Mockingbird, decide which theme or themes you v.ant emphasized: prejudice and superstition, self- awareness, family ties.What values do you want students to infer from the work? Know your goal. At the same time, be flexible.If your students show an inclination for going beyond, or in a different direction, allow for the variation. The students will make the work their own and get more out of it. 2.Allow discussion.While student-generated discussion seems unorganized, the class eventually gets to the crucial elements of the work. Youare there to keep them on track; guide them, but lc't them provide most of the questions andanswers. Allow some personal digressions for these seeming "asides" often show that students are relating the work to their own lives. 3.Students gradually must learn discussion skills and how to work in small groups.They cannot be expected to discuss their papers and assigned works by themselves right away. A workable approach is to model the discussion ofa student paper or a work, using an opaque projector, overhead projector, or dittos.Later, guide discussion as part of large-group questioning.Finally, supervise small groups on their own. These skills take weeks and weeks to learn. Be patient. Eventually, as grade school teachers also encourage their charges to takemore responsiblity for their learning, the students coming to you will be more experienced ingroup work and your job will be easier.

4.Within the framework of your school or district e'irriculum, teach the works you like. The first years of any subject are difficult because the material may be as new to the teachers as it is to the students. Find out immediately how flexibleyour school or district is in what you are required to teach and what freedom you have. 5.Read for pleasure yourself.Whatever you are reading, b ng a passage or two to class to read aloud to your students. Let them know that you read something besides the text and their papers. Share your joy and discovery with them. Insome classes, rapport and personalities wih be such that eventually students will do the same.

6.In evaluating drafts of student papers, look first for a meaningful content. A holistic approach, lo..king at the overall quality, takes in both substantive content 69

7;3 and correctness.This approach puts in proportion the fact that the student writing about Hamlet understood his despair, yet the writing contains run-on sentences.It also reveals that a glib paper, which may be correctly written, does not say anything. Corc_.:tness needs to be attended to after the students' ideas are fully expressed--in preparing final drafts or in editing papers for publication.

7. Publish student work whenever possibly;.Publishing includes dittos, photocopies,student work on bulletinboards, and student work read aloud. Publishing is one of the greatest motivators. 8. Plan. Be willing to change plans, but plan. Plan by the week or unit. Plan a block of time, but be willing to shorten or lengthen the time according to students' needs.Nothing is worse than unlocking the door in the morning wondering what you're going to do that day.

Expert Help for New Teachers: Mentor Teachers Mentor teachers are a valuable resource for new and reassigned teachers. The mentor teacher program, an outgrowth of California's recent educational reform movement, provides these types of expert h'lp:

o Mentor teachers assist in researching resource materia_ for new and reassigned teachers.

o Mentor teachers visit classrooms to help teachers with effective teaching techniques.(These visits are: not to evaluate or judge the new teachers, but to aid and affirm them.)

o Mentor teachers give demonstration lessons and inservice workshops, modeling a variety of teaching strategies; new teachers practice these demonstrations as part of the workshop.

o Mentor teachers team-teach with new teachers.

Department Chairs By providing curriculum leadership, the English Department chair can actively support new and subject-reassigned teachers.Such leadership results in a united department of new and renewed professionals, excited about Leaching literature and engaging students because of this excitement.Advice from successful English chairpersons follows:

to o Establish a department resource file to encourage the study of various literary genres and writing from other disciplines.If these materials are in a central place, the new teachers are more likely to use them- -and then to develop and add their own contributions. A usable file includes successfully taught lessons and unit plans, class sets of poems for each gradelevel,and supplementarymaterialsforcore works: current newspaper articles, essays, poetry, lists of applicable films, audiovisuals, and videotapes. o Hold grade-level meetings to improve MCS integration and to strengthen new teacher confidence through discussion of the why, what, and how of teaching literature. These grade-level meetings can focus on curriculum building and might function as a Professionals' Book Club in which faculty could consider new works as well as new ways to teach familiar titles. o Initiate the buddy system for those schools that do not have mentor teachers.When a new teacher is hired or reassigned, the departmer' chair assigns an experienced teacher to work with the novice.This "buddy," enthusiastic about the teaching of writing and literature, can assist with lesson planning and will bridge the gap between student teaching and classroom realities.This buddy will not be judgmental but will be a partner with whom the new teacher shares classroom triumphs and mishaps. o Visit classrooms to see the Model Curriculum Standards in practice. As rolemodels,the department chairs open their classroomsto new teachers so that they can see the integrated teach:ng of literature. Chairs canalso encourage Englishteacherstovisiteachother's classrooms, maxing the school site an exciting Laboratory for exchanging the best practices in the teaching of literature. Such visits operate best within the atmosphere of "How can we each learn from one another for our students' sake?" rather than "How well is this particular teacher teaching?" o Meet regularly with new English teachers to assist in their professional growth and integration into the department.Too often newcomers are welcomed and then forgotten.These meetings allow the chair to learn what the newcomers' concerns are, what questions they have about the curriculum, and what assistance they need. o Encourage team-teaching to capitalize on the interests and expertise of the new teachers (these new department members bring strengths and need to Pave them recognized); to expose them to other teaching styies; and to integrate the literature curriculum. On a volunteer basis, teams of new and experienced teachers teach a unit of instruction, planning the unit together and then combining their classes for the unit. For example, studying The Good Conscience, the team can divide its tasks:

(1)Research and lecture on background to the Mexican Revolution. (2) Prepare and present the protagonist's genealogy. (3) Teach certain related poems of Pablo Neruda. 71 80 (4) Raise questions relating the novel to contemporary Latino issues and to the lives of any adolescent. o CreateProfessionals' Book Clubstoinvitethe new teachers into a professional family.Let one of them choose thefirst selection to be discussed (see the second part of this chapter for a full description of PBC).

o DiscusstheMCS tofamiliarize new and experienced teacherswith curriculum emphases. A Curriculum Review Matrix MCS* should be available to each English Department to focus on what the department is doing well and on what needs to be changed. Future department meetings could be devoted to department inservice, focusing on workshops, for example, using literature as a catalyst for writing.

Self-Help Strategies

When expert help is not available, new teachers can relyon their own resources and develop their own network.Be ore rushing into action, they decide what they most need for survival: managing a cla,ls better, creating more integrated units,or skillfully juggling paper load, meetings, lesson-planning, etc. Then theycan dev lop their own support system working with a sympathetic colleague.Who knows .low influential this small beginning might become? o Keep a working journal.To act like a researcher--with students as your field of study--is to create an excitement in your work.In your journal, note what works and what doesn't: reflect on reasons why; develop questions toask your resourcepersons,thelibrarian,thecounselors,orthe department head. This journal parallels what your own students might write in a learning log.Since journals work as thinking and learning tools for students, consider yourself a lifelong student of the teaching/learning process.

o Develop integrated lesson plans.Write units which use all the basic skills: speaking, writing, listening, reading, and thinking.Then all your students should respond to the literature, connecting beston one of the skill levels while developing the others.If you can, find a friendly colleague and co- write these lessons--good minds feed from the ideas of other good minds. This collaborative process, often emphasized asa productive learning situation for students, works as well for teachers.Most importantly, co- creativity inspires invaluable camaraderie. o Develop a file.Include lessons plans, unit frameworks, and supplementary resources. If you let great ideas slip away, you'll have to rethink them next

*Contact the Curriculum Implementation Center in San Diego ifyou would like a copy of their matrix.

81 yea,.Open your fileto your colleagues; perhaps they will contribute, lessening your workload. Your colic agues ,nay begin to accept and respect you as a professional.

o Attend staff and department meetings.Attendance reflects profession- alism and engenders greater acceptance and team feeling by and foryour peers. When you speak publicly, address theissuethoughtfully and positively. Model the behavior you most want from your fellows: thoughtful and positive response.

Professionals' Book Clubs

Spirited conversations are typical of Professionals' Book Clubs.People come together to share with each other the fruits of their active readingtheir insights, reactions, and inferences, the connections and parallels they see, the artistry they perceive--and compare their interpretations and favorite passages.This kind of enthusias: I has caused book clubs to spread to additior.11 schools. Professionals' Book Clubs certainly complement the goals of the Model Curriculum Standards. The information that follows is useful to those interested in startinga club at their own schools.

Benefits

ocreates enthusiasm for reading and discussing*

oprovides teachers an opportunity to generate ideas for classroom use

ooffers a forum for sharing personal work and experiences, academicor otherwise, among group members

ointroduces reading materials and exciting ideas which might not otherwise have been explored

oprovides opportunities to focus on a particular area of interest with like (or different) minded individuals

oprovides a low-anxiety, low-pressure environment for exploring literature

* Frank Smith notes that students learn whatwe demonstrate, not necessarily what we teach. The genuineness of our commitment to and enthusiasm for literature is what students see and imitate. A PBC keeps the energies flowing.

c' omotivates regular reading

osolves the problem of having no one to talk to about what you are reading

oallows for socializing through literature

--Besides it's fun!

Membership Membership can consist of an entire English/Language Arts Department, teachers from a certain grade level (all ninth-grade teachers, for example), teachers with a particular interest (Advanced Placement), a mixture of teachers from various departments, librarians, and/or administrators with a commoi, goal.

Format The format of a book club will vary according to the goals and interests of ;ts members.Both of the formats described below produce enjoyment of reading and rejuvenation.

Model I Model I clubs meet at school and focus both on literature and on ways to teach it. In approaching a reading selection, Model I members discuss first its meaning for them personally and then shareteaching approaches specifictothe literature cffered in their department.Such clubs have looked at possible literature adoptions for their schools, previewing selections for the students; at particular curriculumofferings,oratspecificareas suchas poetryor contemporary nonfiction.In sharing ideas for teaching a particular work, some gri.,9ps prefer a very structured response:members are assigned parts of a lesson plan to work on and come to the following meeting with copies of their ideas for everyoae. In other groups, a less formal approach may work well, such as asking each member to keep a certain idea in mind while reading the selected text.

74 Model II

Model II clubs meet off-campus and 'ocus on teacher enrichment. Though Model II members' reading may not be specifically connected to the curriculum,e.g., Stephen Jay Gould's The Mismeasure of Manz the breadth and depth gained by thereading strengthen theteachei's performance in the classroom. The informal surroundings--a home, restaurant, etc.--are congenial toa lively, spontaneous (perhaps heated) discussion of the chosen work.Such discussion, moving from general responses to a close contextual examination of particulars, affects the classroom, but more subtly.Certainly the teacher enriched by a variety of reading experiences carries that richness into the classroom.

Principles in Choosing a Piece of Literature When the aim of the Professionals' Book Club is pragmatic and the membership is comprised of a single English Department, then the selection of literaturecan be confined to the works already being taught or under consideration for inclusion in the curriculum.However, if the aim of the Professionals' B ik Club is for personal enrichment, then the choice of literature should be based on what the majority of members want to mad.Since there is a tremendous range of literature to choose from, the following are some guidelines for selection:

oBe sure that the piece of literature is worthy of discussion. A mystery by Agatha Christie may be fun to read but not generate more than fifteen minutes of discussion. The literature does n need to be restricted, however, to the so-ca! Led "great books" because there are many fine pieces of modern literature that have enough "meat" in them to generatea great deal of discussion.

oSinceevery member should have a copy of thepiece of literature, availability should be considered.Many bookstores are willing to order copic2, but it may take some time.Another consideration is whether the book is available in hard or paperback--the price of the book varies. Also, it might be importara for all the members in have thesame translation of a work because translations often differ widely.

oVary the lengths and difficulty of the literature to be discussed.Problems could ariseif the book club reads War and Peace followed by Brothers Karamazov and tht. i Don Quixote.

oLastly, a conscious el,ort should be made to tap the wealth of literature in all genres.In deference to heavy work loadq., short stories, essays, and poetry make nice alternatives to lengthy novels.

8 Day-to-Day Operation of Book Clubs Besides che usual routines of any club -- maintaining a roster, arranging for meeting places and refreshments, and publicizing events--a Professionals' Book Club may wish to

o keep a short annotated log of books read by the group o gather teaching ideas generated at meetings for the department files o reportanyinterestingresultstothelocalliteratureprojectsite (eventually a newsletter highlighting such items may be disseminated through the Curriculum Implementation Center in San Diego).

Extended Activities Some clubs find that extended activities enhance their study of literature. The following ideas from existing clubs have been found to be enriching and entertaining:

o guest authors to speak at meetings o theater and film excursions o parties, e.g., group's anniversary dinner, British tea party o readers' theaters o sharing favorite passages or poems o seasonal literary celebrations, e.g., Irish authors for St. Patrick's Day, love poems for Valentine's Day, or night passages for winter solstice.

Attracting Members Existing clubs have also shared their successful ways of attracting members:

o personal contact o posters and notices placed wherever teachers congregate o invitations in faculty mailboxes o public address system announcements, dramatic readings o "Book of the Month" displays in school or library showcases.

Expert Help The following expel ienced book club participants represent a variety of book clubs such as on-site or Great Books programs. They are an excellent .asource for those wishing to start a club.

1. Meredith Bilson 2. Kay Burkhart Saint Monica High School Serra Junior High School Archdiocese of Los Angeles Whittier Union MD 213-394-3701 619-J60-4341

76 nt, 3. Bill Burns 13. Ellen Manhire 1096 North Granada Drive District Office Orange, CA 92669 Fresno USD 'Tigh School 714-633-3497 209-441-3606

4. Evelyn Burroughs 14. Barbara Palmer Mount Miguel High School Locke High School Grossmont Union High School District LAUSD 619-463-5551 213-757-9381

5. Marilyn Colyar 15. Elane Polin Sail Marino High School Newton Middle School San Marino Unified School District Torrance USD 818-304-0836 213-533-4556

6. Jan Gabay 16. Mary Purucker Serra High School Librarian San Diego Unified School District Santa Monica /Malibu USD 619-560-4341 213-399-2785

7. Jann Geyer 17. Joanne Speakman Lakewood High School El Camino Fundamental HS Long Beach Unified School District San Juan USD 209-441-3606 916-971-7430

8. Charlotte IIiguchi 18. Anita Thompson 9th Street School Temple City High School Los Angeles Unified School District Temple City USD 213-622-0669 818-285-2111

9. Jann Jenkinson 19. Marilyn Whirry Davis High School Mira Cost: High School Modesto City school District South Bay Union HSD 213-533-4556 213-376-5421 10. Marcia Koenig El Camino Real High School LAUSD 619-560-4341

11. Kathryn Konoske Temple City High School Temple City USD 619-445-5452

12. Peter Lock Mountain Empire High School Mountain Empire USD 619-445-5452

77 Confessions of a Twenty-Year Veteran

Why do people choose to be English teachers? What is it that dravis them day after (.,,,y for nine months, year after year, to a classroom where there are too many students all draining the very wellspring cf the teacher's physical and emotional being? What makes a person face the yearly aggravation of not e ,er having the right number of books or enough supplies?The frustration of over -Icill paper loads and large classes?

Simple.A love for learning and teaching - -a love for youth - -a belief in the goodness of people. A satisfaction in knowing that they chose to make their time on this earth meaningful to others, but most of all, meaningful to themselves. These teachers get their promotions and bonuses, not in dollars or cents, but from seeing a student's eyes light up when a problem is finally solved, or from knowing that the beauty of a piece of literature has been engraved in the heart of a student. And perhaps, this piece of beauty will be a fortification for a weak moment that might come later in life to the student. The real reward comes from a parent's note commending the teachers for having influenced their child's life.The reward comes from realizing the influence teachers have on countless students: the pebbles of truth, of thought that teachers drop in students' minds ripple out to others, setting in motion a stream of living waters. The positive influence from a teacher to a student does not stop; students will pass on what they have learned to their own children one day, and their children will pass iton, and it will pass on and on, and will flow from generation to generation. What makes a person become an English teacher?It is the respect for the teaching profession that forces the teacher to stay abreast of the times, to keep her mind fertile and active, and to keep her seeking for more and more knowledge and understanding. Teachers arethedisciplesof Socrates. Idealistic, you say? Ridiculous, you say? I recognize all the flaws.I recognize all the negatives, but I also know that two negatives can make a positive.Without an English teacher's idealism, what a barren world this would be! Anti so, I will go on and hope that my legacy will be an inspiration to others o that they will seek, so that they will want to learn and hupefully, une day they will find a way to keep TRUTH alive so that all people will be free, and the world will be one at heart. In September of 1985, I shall return to start my twenty-firit year.I can still say with pride, "I am a teacher and I believe." Journal Entry, July .4, 1985 Evaline Khayat Kruse California Teacher of the Year, 1985

85 CHAPTER 5

THE CLASSROOM:

LITERATURE FOR ALL STUDENTS

in which we travel into the hallowed domains, the sanctum sanctorum, the heart of the whole monumental educational structure to see genuine literature taught to every single student, all those huddled masses yearning to be free; and to find ways into important literary seas that also guide the young Odysseus through these seas and beyond to new ports.

79 86 The students understand themselves and what it means to be human

The students bring to the literature their own knowledge and personal experience

87 Chapter 5

THE CLASSROOM:

LITLRATURE FOR ALL STUDENTS

The best education for the best is the best education for the many. --R. M. Hutchins

And yet the scenario in many of our schools is quite remote from Hutchins' ideal. The brightest and best, the AP students, the identified gifted and talented, do indeed read the finest literature of our culture and engage in lively discussions, testingtheir own value systems and formulating, perhaps unconsciously,new philosophical and ethical stances. The slower students, "terminal students," if they read at all, often get color-coded reading kits, answer "comprehension" questions, and returnto the next of the carefully sequenced reading activities. They infrequently (if at all) read materials which develop higher-order thinking skills. Nor do they discuss literature which has meaning in theirown lives and in the larger society. Although the new curriculum would neither abolish AP classes for gifted students nor totally eliminat,) a "tracking" system for California schools, the MSC document emphasizes that access to the significant works of literature and to their accompanying human issues is the right and property of all students."All students are worthwhile enough to receive the best we can give them" (Point-of-View Statement, PV, 2), the best literature reflecting the central -alues ofour culture. All students, regardless of reading level, must pursue higher lev 1 comprehension (Standard #6)."Every student gets mentally ,tretched and challenged" in the new curriculum. "To shield average students from the wisdom andpower of our heritage effectively keeps them class-bound andtiates the potential power of our schools to create opportunity, to develop individual talents, toempower students to participate in our soclet" (Bill Honig, paraphrasing an idea by Patrick, Albjerg Graham--

81 88 "Schools:Cacophony about Practice; Silence about Purpose").Rigor is not being vitiated when we meet the recommendation that "Higher standards need to be accompanied by greater efforts to help those who have difficulties in academic achievement."(Committee for Economic Development report "Investing in our Children: Business and the Public Schools".) The implementation of this standard calls upon the creativity and flexibility of each language arts teacher in the state to make the great body of significant literature accessible for each student--frcm the ESL learner and the resource room student to the most verbal. Concerns about how this goal may be accomplished are indeed legitimate. How can we possibly encourage in all students, even those with minimal literacy skills, a lifelong appreciation of literature, and thus create more humane, fully developed, thoughtful persons? Seeking the answer to this question is a central task in the ongoing California Literature Project. To this end, the development of humane, thoughtful citizens, the California Literature Project would affirm the following:

oStudentsrespondmorepositivelytoenrichmentthanto remediation.

oThe natural heterogeneity of dll classes can be a rich asset.

oThe social Lendencies of students can be used to advantage in a variety of learning arrangements in the classroom. (See Chapter 6 on Collaborative Learning.)

oTeachcr enthusiasm for literature--and for teaching--is the most basicingredientinasuccessfulliteratureprogramforall students.(One way to keep this enthusiasm, The Professionals' Book Club, is suggested in Chapter 4.)

oGreat books and writers are accessible to every student if teachers plan carefully and guide their classes skillfully.

oStudents gointoliterEturewith aparticular background of experience.We, as teachers, may influence that background in a variety of ways. Writing to examine the student's own experiences may be one method.

oTeachers may direct students through literature in a way that they ca.1 more profoundly understand it.Simply a3signing the questions at the end of the chapter doesn't lead to thinking.But writing about what they are reading is a way to get them thinking.

82 Fa) oStudents go beyond the literature especially by writing.Writing is a way for them to pull together various reactions and insights. They might relate one piece of literature to another and to their own experience.

The process approach, which has been so successful in helping studentsbecome fluent and comfortable with writing, can get similar results in approaching reading. Consider the suggested sequence of steps.

Before Reading a Literary Work

oGenerally arouse the interest of all students. To move intoa story or poem, read aloud portions of a work. The work is the thing.Relish its language with your class.Good filmstrips, films, and recordings all evoke student desire to read the literature. oUse people as classroom resources.Guest lecturers can bring special insight or expertise to specific works, thus expanding students' background knowledge and stimulating their interest in reading the work. For example, having a rabbi visit and lecture on history and background of Hasidism isa wonderful way to introduce Chaim Potok's The Chosen. oSequence works to be studied.Beginning with familiar and easier works which share common themes with more complex works gives sti.Jentsa bridge across the levels of difficulty.Folk tales,for example, have provided such bridges. oEvoke empathy from students.Students' own feelings about situations similar to those encountered, in a literary workcan form the basis for a journal writing assignment and/or a class discussion, thus creatinga good introduction to the characters in a novel or short story.0 oProvide overviews and synopses for students. The overwhelming difficulty of some works can be lessened by providing a plotsummary for students. Anticipation of character development, .21ot, and theme givesstudents needed structurc for their reading. Tell them that they need not understand every word to get the meaning.They can even skim until they find interesting sections. One teacher says she hadsuccess with telling students 83 o 0 to read the Cliff's Notes to get them out of temptation's way and then really get into the book being studied- -its important meanings.

oStudy vocabulary in context.Key words for comprehending text can be selected by both students and teacher. Use the essential words orally, even conversationally when possible, and invite the student to do the same. Other activities for learning vocabulary can include using learning logs to list words and definitions, keeping class vocabulary notebooks, and using the board to redefine words in context more precisely.Students often enjoy words as words.

oProvide background for students. Biographical information about the author,historicalinformationregardingperiodorsetting,factual information about the subject of the work--all of these can nnd should be explored.Possible methods of disseminating information include student and/orteacher-generatedtimelines,audio-visualmaterials,student presentations (oral and written).

While Reading a Literary Work

Introducing and "enticing" may well be easier than the day-4o-day working through a difficult work. The typical teaching method often consists of assigning 25 paps of a novel to be read as homework, creating a comprehension quiz to see if the assignment was indeed completed, and discussing, sometimes superficially, the pates assigned. Remembering thatthe emphasis of the MCS ison thein-depth comprehension of the substance of the great works--"their meaning for the person and their messages for society" (PV, 6)--perhaps these following suggestions can breathe n-v life and meaning into a literature program.

o Explore in Depth -- Present a few crucial quotations making sure students see the implicationsto the point where a quotation like Yeats's "nor is there singing school but studying monuments of undying intellect" haunts them in later life.

84 91 oOral Presentations -- Convert a scene in a novel into a short dramatic piece, using dialogue, stage directions, character analysis. create a courtroom-style debate on an issue raised in a work. o Character Analysis/Sketch Have students assume the personae of characters for written or oral work. Ask students to make predictions about a character's next action, comparing their predictions with the reality. o Literature-Reading Logs Maintain regular entries, including quotations they like and a brief explanation as to why they chose those them a character who resembles someone they know a theme or idea they see connected to their experience comparisons/contrasts with other works open-ended questions they have, suggested by their reading predictions interviews - paraphrases of important passages imitations of sentences they admire o Artistic Visualizations -- Encourage students to illustrate book sections, chapters, acts, stanzas of poems. -- Create visual presentations--collages, charts, timelines.

85 2 o Parent Involvement

Encourage parents to share an interest :n reading with their children.Excerpted material from class assignments can be sent home for parent to read and discuss.One teacher had her students compose a newspaper, drawing on events from within the book. Parents often helped their sons or daughters flesh out historical background for the news articles.

After Reading

When students write about the literature, they clarify their thinking and deepen their understanding.Activities which conclude the study of a work of literature should, therefore, include writing.And teachers must themselves write! Only then can writing assignments be sharpened and refined,the process being clearly understood by teacher and student. The following activities are suggested:

oUse parallel readings between genres to illustrate commo:i concepts and themes. For example, a sense of isolation and how t.) deal with itis a theme of Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory," and Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, and Robert Frost's "The Hired Man."Have students write about the instances of isolation and how the characters dealt with their loneliness in several of the works.

o Create games or shows based on literary works which incorporate all language arts skills.For example, Steve Allen's "Meeting of Minds" has been applied to literary and historical characters being studied in the classroom.

oOther activities might include the following:

- the writing of a video screenplay for production

interviews of personae from the work written and then perhaps videotaped

charts showing symbolic relationships among characters

oSee Chapter 7 for the Writer's Workshop concept.

86 Helping Students Read Difficult Text

The suggestions above (using dramatizations, frequent writing, sequencing, media) all help students read difficult texts.In addition here are seecific suggestions for specific kinds of difficulties:

If the difficulty lies in lack of experi nee, you could

o fill in knowledge gaps (definitions of key words, background for understanding character motivation)

oevoke students' own knowledge about kindred topics

ouse writing and response groups before, during, and after reading.

If the difficulty lies in identifying with another culture and time period,you could

ostart with a contemporary piece on the same theme and work backward ohelp students discuss the present-day relevance of the ideas in the text before they read oconnect universal themes to those in the text (e.g., unrequited passion, whether from Medea or "A Rose for Emily")

oconnect characters in the text with real, modern day parallels ithe soldic 's in The Red Badge of Courage with Vietnam War veterans)

o initiate a search for quotations from the text relevant to today's concerns to display in the classroom.

If the difficulty lies in the sustained use of language, you ccnld

o reduce anxiety by saying "Read as much of it as you pan" or "Scan it and pick out interesting passages"

opromote lots of oral exchange of ideas compreLanded from the text

ouse visualizations, mind journeys

o read the work aloud, serialize it

oprovide incentives for persistence.

87 9 4

9 11 For all sorts of difficulties, you can

oestabiish specific and worthwhile purposes which the reading fulfills

opromote the enjoyment of the text

ocelebrate the completion of difficult work.

These principles for ways INTO, THROUGH, and BEYOND literature study are illustrated in the model lessons which follow for students in a highly mixed class and for students presenting special challenges.

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: MODEL LESSONS FOR STUDENTS IN A HIGHLY MIXED CLASS

The lesson plans below make the classics John Hersey's Hiroshima and Steven Crane's The Red Badge of Courage accessible to all students in a highly mixed class.

Ways INTO Hiroshima by John Hersey

1.Begin with a study of the real dangers of nuclear weapons; include guest speakers, if you can, or assign students to work up brief reports.A doctor can discuss with them the devastation that radilltion alone can wreak on people who are not even near the blast zone. Outside speakers or bright students who support either unilateral disarmament or weapons research and construction can both explain why they believe as they do.

2. Use a class or individual vocabulary notebook for teaching the unfamiliar words. Context redefinition is another good activity.

3. By brainstorming and then journal writing on the ethical questions surrounding the explosion of the bomb, give students the opportunity to analyze their feelings about this event before becoming involved in the reading.Many thought- provoking articles were published during the summer of 1985, the fortieth anniversary of the bomb.

4 5 4.Read aloud the children's story 1000 Cranes to set the mood for reading Hiroshima and add to the students' knowledge.

Ways THROUGH Hiroshima

1. Assign groups a specific character or characters on which to become "experts."They can keep journals of the character's daily activities, draw maps which tracetheir movements, andfind quotations which best express their character's experiences. This will be especially helpful for those students who will be able to read only part of the work. Oral reports of their findings can be given to the class. 2. ' Create graphic organizers to aid students in charting the actions of the six major characters.

3.Use the "What happens next?" level of questioning to give specific reasons for the class to continue reading.

4.Focus on the variety of injuries inflicted upon the six main characters (as well as the unnamed thousands whom they encounter after the explosion). The class can compare the comments of the guest speaker doctor and the descriptions in the book. They could also consider the increase in power of today's weapons andassess the consequences of unleashing that power. They can then examine the size of the zones of destructions in Hiroshima and compare them to the statistics given by Jonathan Schell in Fate of the Earth.Schell gives a thorough description of the effects of a bomb of less than maximum yield and power. The teacher can distribute a map of the students' city or county and help them to map out what Schell describes.Along the way, of course, this approach can help students to sympathize with the victims of the Hiroshima blast and take more of an interest in what they read.

Ways BEYOND Hiroshima

1. View the videotape of the ABC television film The Day After. 2.Send the students to the library for facts on nuclear weapons research and the increase in the nuclear weapons arsenals.(Educators for Social Responsibility, 23 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, has some excellent teaching materials available on the nuclear issue.)

89 ael0 r

%; 3. Use facts gathered from research as a basis for group discussions and personal or journal writing on the pros and cons of nuclear weapons research and production. Make sure they understand fully the arguments supporting the views of their opponents.

4.Use views generated from discussions and writings as background for a class debate or discussion on the above topic.

5. After students have formed a strong foundation through research, discussions, and writing, have them write letters to congressional representative: or senators expressing their views on nuclear weapons research and stockpiling.This can be an individual or a group project which includes all the steps of the writing process. Insist they begin with an accurate summary of the view they argue against so that their counter-arguments are relevant.

Ways INTO The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane

1.View the film featuring Richard Thomas as Henry Fleming. Because Crane's style can be abstract tc some students, the film eases them into the book by providing a visual reference. 2. Read Crane's poem "Do Not Weep, for War is Kind" for insight into Crane's feelings about war and his use of irony.

3.Read other poetry of the Civil War such as poems written by Melville and Whitman for additional background.Students might enjoy hearing "Dona Nobis Pacem" by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams--a powerful musical setting of some of Whitman's Civil War poetry including "Beat! Beat! Drums!"

4.Acquaint students with other Civil War songs to give them a feeling of what was important to the men who were fighting the war.

5. Set the Civil War in some historical perspective through student and/or teacher-generated timelines and discussions of historical events.

6.Provide some background information on Crane, the man and the author, especially noting the fact that he wrote the novel without ever experiencing the war himself. Students might try out in writing their o%.n powers of vicarious imagination by describing the feel of playing football (if they're girls) or of entering a beauty contest (if they're boys).

90 7. Use an excerpt from the novel as a model for student writing. The selection should be one where Crae's use of color or other imagery is apparent. This will help students understand how Crane uses such imagery throughout the novel; it will help them appreciate the craft.As Virginia iVoolf noted, the best way to undertand a novel is to try to write one.

Ways THROUGH The Red Badge of Courage

1.Assign groups different images (religious imagery, animal, color, darkness and light) to trace in *heir reading of the novel. This gives them a focus for reading and leads them to see how literary language explores meaning through imagery and metaphor.Groups may choose to chart the use of specific imagery in their oralor written reports to the class.But the teacher needs to help them draw out the meaning of symbols and images. Mere symbol-chasing is never enough. 2.Assign groups to trace Henry's "development" into manhood.This can be accomplished through graphic organizers, charts or graphs which can be shared with the entire class.

3.Give oral and dramatic readings of sections of the novel especially the sections using dialect (which some students find difficult). 4.Provide for the exceptionally motivated and/or gifted students, additional references and research ideas encouraging them to investigate the cultural and intellectual background of the time, thus developing in students an appreciation for the ways in which history, literature, science, and philosophy relate to each other--in Civil War times and now.

Ways BEYOND The Red Badge of Courage

1.Draw maps of a battle scene and indicate Henry's movements during the battle.

2.Develop crossword puzzles including setting, characters, themes, and ideas in the novel (a nice review technique!). 3.Write a continuation of the novel. What does Henry do next? Does he learn from his experience? This can be an individual, paired, or group assignment and may be done in play form and then presented to the class. 91

:3 i". 4. Assign to students able to relate to the question of Henry's growth the writing of a narrative about an event in their own lives that had as much effect on them as the battle did have or should have had on Henry.

5.Ask otht.rs to discuss their appreciation of the ways in which Crane's use of imagery helped them understand what Henry did or did not learn from the battle.

6.Encourage those who did additional research and reading to synthesize their findings with the details of the novel in a paper that discusses ways in which Crane's work reflects the influence of major thinkers of the age: Darwin, Marx, or Freud.

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: ESL STUDENTS

In some districts of the state, ESL students make up more than 8096 of the student population.The challenge of implementing the MCS is greatest in multilingual, multicultural classrooms. The new curriculum designed to keep all students "active, involved, and when possible excited" (PV, 5), can aid in the complex task of becoming proficient in a new language. Research indicates that most language skills are "acquired" rather than "learned."Thus if the teacher creates a rich linguistic and literary environment with much reading and writing, the students will acquire skills with less anxiety than if they are merely instructed in rules.While the approaches found earlier in this chapter are usable with ESL students, the ideas and books of special interest to ESL student that follow should be particularly helpful. Note:ESL students often get hooked on books and move to general interest reading after they have read books with which they can culturally identify.

Ideas for the ESL Classroom

oFind good children's literature and adolescent literature which provide transitions to traditional literature without being demeaning.Literature for Thursday's Child (Sam Sebesta and William J. Iveson, editors) is an excellent resource book for your library if you are not familiar with the best of children's literature.Folk and fairy tales create awareness of literary structures and have their own special kind of wisdom.

99 oUseread-alongtapesforESL students. These may be purchased commercially in some cases or created by yourself or your own students.

oSearch out primary-language versions of folk and fairy tales or other stories and poems.(For example, locate a Vietnamese version of Cinderella and compare it to other versions.)

oInvestigate the New Immigrants Project at Up Berkeley involving teaching through using oral history. Contact Berkeley for information on this project.

oDo not be afraid to use literature in the student's primary language on occasion even though literacy in English is the goal for all students.If you have lived or studied abroad, you will remember how comforting it was to read and speak in your own language. Cognitive growth is cognitive growth, no matter what language it takes place in.

oUse the State Department of Education's recently developed guideline for teachers of ESL: Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework. You can secure a copy from The Evaluation, Dissemination and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032.

oUse the ESL program, New Channels to Reading (San Diego County Department of Education)whichinvolves prereading and postreading activities, read-along tapes, and teacher suggestions. This program includes classicslikeRomeo and Juliet and A Christmas Carol, as well as contemporary dramas such as A Patch of Blue. Contact Mary Barr for more information on this approach. oBenefit from work of the California Writing Project, funded by a small grant, inits study of applying project insights to teaching language to minority students.In 1984, experienced teachers from six project sites met topresentworkableideasforteaching beginning,intermediate, add advanced language minority students.The teacher's guidebook detailing

93 l'0 their ideas will be availableinfall,1986. Ask for From Literacy to Literature: Reading and Writing for the Language Minority Student, OAIP, Gay ley Center, UCLA.. Here is an abridged version of a teaching idea found in this forthcoming text:

From Daily Reading to Writing: A Method for the ESL Classroom

Used in multilingual, multicultural classrooms, this method promotes better writing and daily reading. Briefly, here is what happens:

1.The teacher brings to class a set of paperbacks, all of high interest to the age group, but of different levels of difficulty, a few in the dominant language of some of the students. Each student selects a book that looks interesting. Here is a range of titles representative of choices teachers make:

Some Prefer Nettles Junichiro Tanizaki (Japanese interest) No No Boy John Okada (Japanese-American) Nisei Daughter Monica Sone Rickshaw Boy Lao She (Chinese) Scent of Apples Bienvenido Santo (Filipino) Pouliuli Albert Wendt (Samoan) La Muerte de Artemio Cruz Carlos Fuentes Black Boy Richard Wright The Outsiders S. E. Hinton Call of the Wild Jack London Watership Down Richard Adams A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle Where the Redfern Grows Wilson Rawls Farenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Poco Jose Villarreal

1 c'l Most of tha works by these four authors are also well-liked: John Steinbeck, Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy), Lois Duncan, and Nat Hentoff. Some teachers have noted the difference in class enthusiasm and fullness of writing response when they turn from indifferent stories to ones meaningful to the students. Langston Hughes, for example, excels in descrioing the urbanscene and so city kids relate to his stories.One teacher turned her largely black class onto legends and myths when she discussed Stackolee who was feared by the Ku Klux Klan.

2.Students are given five or ten minutes at the beginning of the class period to read. Then they are given a response form to write on. At first, students may read only during that time--no books go home with them from your collection.(It's nice to have them begging to read!) The teacher reads too. 3.The chart is filled out each day by each student after the initial reading period.The first day they simply record the title and author, the date and the number of pages read and copy the last sentence read.The second day, they summarize what has happened so far. The third day they write the main idea of their reading so far; the fourth day they talk for two minutes toa fellow classmate about the book (this usually results in their wanting to read each other's book next). You may add to the chart any other task you wish.

SPECIAL CHALLENGE: NON-HUMANITIES STUDENTS

'ere is a sizable group of students who consider reading fiction a waste of time.hil that counts with them is "reality" which usually means numbers, scientific experiments, motorcycle manuals, word-processors, prenursing studies or sports. While recognizing the excellence of these "realities" (and the students' good fortune in finding their fields so early), we, as teachers, need to help them to be whole persons, rather than narrow specialists.Our specialist technological world has particular need of the crucial human issues, the moral awareness, and the wisdom which literature provides. Our students need to explore the values which defineus as human beings, which transcend cultures and which unite us to people of other times and places. Indeed, the ultimate goal of the MCS is to nurturea huma: being who is sensitive, humane and in tune with profound human experience and human ideas.

95 Enlightened approaches to literature can demonstrate to such students that a novel or poem can order experience in such a way that its "reality" is more manifest than it could be in everyday these approaches connect literary themes with issues important to the students. Such an approach is seen in the teaching ideas that follow:

Teaching A Man For All Seasons to Non-Humanities Students Specific Teaching Ideas Suppose you are studying the words and actions of Sit' Thomas More in Robert Bolt's play A Man for All Seasons. Here students can encounter a personality who saw beyond thetrappings of power and position and lost his life because he steadfastly refusedto be intimidated by King Henry VIII into repudiating the authority of the Catholic Church.In teaching this play to science-oriented students, the following suggestions might be considered:

o As a way into A Man for All Seasons, use literature logs and read-around groups to explore the following ideas: --What or who would you be willing to die for? --In the past what have people been willing to die for? --Under what circumstances would dying be the "easy way out?"

o Committees could report on the moral and social responsibility of: --Scientists of the Manhattan Project -Every citizen as described by Thoreau in "Civil Disobedience" -Spectators in a mob (see the lynching mob from Ox Bow Incident) -Daniel and Philip Berrigan --Protestors who set fire to themselves

o In addition to hearing the cassette or viewing the video of the drama, the students should carefully analyze the speech of the Common Man who opens and closes the play.Practical, shrewd, materialistic, he talks to the audience at the end when More is dead: "I'm breathing.Are you breathing too?It's nice, isn't it?It isn't difficult to keep alive, friends- -just don't make trouble- or if you must make trouble, make the sort of trouble that's expected.Well, I don't need to tell you that. Good night:If we should bump into one another, recognize mP."

1 t: 3 -Why should we be able to recognize him? -Centuries ago, when deep religious convictions were perhaps more universal, would the response have been the same?

The jailer says:"...I'd let him out if I could, but I can't. Not without taking up residence in there myself. And he's in there already, so what's the point? You know the old adage? 'Better a live rat than a dead lion' and that's about it." This quotation is indeed provocative and groups might be formed to discuss the guilt of someone who only follows the orders of his superiors, i.e., the Lieutenant Cal ley case and the Nuremberg Trials.

o Studentscouldinvestigateinpanel-discussionfashiontheroleof expediency versus principles in today's world; let them focus on Dag Hammarskjold's words, "Never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions."

GENERAL CHALLENGE: STUDENTS INDIFFERENT TO BOOKS

Of course, an even larger group of students reads neither fiction nor nonfiction voluntarily.Everyone acknowledges the importance of hooking these young people on books, helping them find deep pleasure in reading good writers. Good writers, it has been found, have done more reading for their own interest and pleasure than poor writers.Individualized reading programs that get students reading for pleasure develop both reading and writing skills. A major effort in the new curriculum must be directed towards helping students find books that :lave meaning in their lives, books that speak to them.We must relate books to their experiences, to their values, to their language, to their knowledge--and, from there, extend their experiences, values, linguistic ability, and knowledge. The California Literature Project focused on these means of increasing student involvement in reading:

o Student Book Clubs o Other Resources for Promoting the Individual Reading Program

1 n 4 o Library-Classroom Coordination o Media Usage o School and Community Assistance o Integrating Language Arts

STUDENT BOOK CLUBS

Books not discussed lose their value. --Mortimer Adler

A Student Book Club in the classroom is an excellent way to "hook" studentson reading--assigned reading, supplemental reading, and recreational reading.Book Clubs, the classroom version of the Professionals' Book Club (see Chapter 4)are groups of five or six students who

o meet on a regular schedule, weekly or biweekly o meet always with the same group

o read the same book in each club (or books on the same themeor books by the same author or maybe just books!)Eventually students choose text and treatment--play-lovers read aloud parts of dramas theyare reading, for example.

o meet during class (or perhaps during lunch or after school) o begin with sustained silent reading and end with a whole group discussion or journal writing

How do students left to their own devices manage? Often they dovery well. However, the teacher needs to give direction, particularly at the beginning. "When Book Club meets tomorrow, I suggest each of you tell aboutan incident in the book that reminded you of something either in your own life or that you heard about." Or--"When Book Club meets this week I want you to read out loud to thegroup your favorite paragraph and tell why you chose it."Or--"When Book Club meets next time, talk about some ideas or questions that you think the bookyou are reading addresses. See what your group thinks about these ideas." The teacher visits each club, not to ask questions, givea grade, criticize or judge, but to show a genuine interest in the books the studentsare reading by 98

1n5 becoming a part of the discussion.The teacher who feels a grade is necessary can give a participation grade determined by the members of the group or else simply grade the journal writing.Students look forward to Book Club Day as a time for them to share experiences, as well as information; a time to explore ideas; a time to question.

OTHER RESOURCES FOR PROMOTING THE INDIVIDUAL READING PROGRAM

In our task of creating lifelong readers--an exciting and creative task if there ever was one--we share with students our own enthusiasm, reading with them, discussing with them issues which affect their--and our--lives. We also share with them school and community resources and media meant to enlarge their worlds. The following activities are suggested as potential "hooks" for students:

Reading Hooks

o A Book-Tasting Party Goal: Studentsdoosing a book that they want to read for supplenR.tital outside reading. Teacher Preparation:Use the entire library or select books suitable to students' ages and ability levels.Put these on a table for student "tasting." Procedure: Students pick a book, read the first paragraph and/or the first dialogue.They continue doing this until they find a book they want to read.

o Sustained Silent Reading During these wonderful minutes, read with students. Do not use this time to catch up on ungraded essays. n.emember students learn what we demonstrate even more than what we

c 1 c)6 Visual or Dramatic Hooks

o Invite an author to visit your class.If you are daring and perhaps talented, try a persona yourself.Dickens, Shakespeare, and Austen are fun and challenging.Dress up as that author and be him or her for the day.

o You and other teachers become experts in certain areas and exchange classes for a day or two. This gives students a new face and a different point of view. (It also gives teachers new faces to see.)

o Ask selected students the day (or week) before to read and study a passage or scene to act out or read for the class.*

Listening Hooks

o Write a review* of a book or essay you've read.Share it with the class either orally (or place it on a bulletin board).

o Provide nongraded activities inall areas of study, reading, writing, speaking and listening.Playing music while students read poetry, for example, establishes an atmosphere for reflection.

o Read aloud passages from historical novels to exemplify that history is really about people, not just wars and other power struggles. Across Five Aprils or passages from novels by Irving Stone work well.

Library classroom Coordination A good library nourishes the new curriculum. A teacher and/or librarian can provide exciting, visually attractive projects to make enticing those books which speak to students. Try these specific suggestions:

o Add a book review column to the school newspaper, encouraging student critics to write their opinions of books.

o Help students organize a book exchange so they can trade their books for others.

*It should be understood we recommend having able students perform when possible.

100

I 0 7 o Avail yourself et the services of commercial book publishers (e.g., Scholastic Book Services).

o Encourage students to enter various contests.

o Display and discuss the Author-of-the-Month, using related posters, art, photos.

o Model our teacher-reading by displaying the current book being discussed by the Professionals' Book Club.

o flood your classroom with books!

o If you need several copies of the same book for small group discussions, give the librarian enough lead time so she can use the librarians' network to borrow the books for you.

MEDIA USAGE

We often blame television and other media for students' lack of interest in bool's.Instead of continuing to blame what has become their "native language," we can use television, radio, tapes and records, movies, and magazines to create interest.As Barbra Morris effectively demonstrated in her presentation to the California Literature Conference we can use media as "hooks" forcore works, supplemental reading, and pleasure reading, for the media are real parts of their lives which simply cannot be ignored. TV producers and disc jockeys, programmers and songwriters know how to hold the attention of our students.So, why not use some of the very techniques so cleverly employed by the masters of media?

Film Film can be used to introduce the story or play the students are about to read. For example, when introducing Romeo and Juliet, show the scenes in the Zefferelli movie that depict the duel between Romeo and Tybalt.Discuss rivalry, family loyalty,feuds, weapons, clothing, and architecture.These scenes will provide discussion material as well as some insight into the problems of divided loyalty. Another example:the movie Sounder, based on the short novel studied in many junior high classrooms, develops the theme of coming to maturity ofa black boy in the South during the 1930's.Before reading, show the scene in which the father is arrested for stealing a ham to feed his family and the dog Sounder is shot by the sheriff.These scenes are guaranteed to involve the students in the problems of the protagonist, David Lee, before they begin reading.

Slides Slide shows of the settings of novels, stories, and plays can create excitement and interest in those plac3s, and thus in the literature itself.If you or a colleague are traveling, take slides and put them together with a script.Via slides, take the students to 11,Iount Olympus and the ancient Greek monuments; let them travel down the Mississippi River as Huck Finn did or envision the thatched cottage of Anne Hathaway and the tranquility of Trinity Church on the River Avon, the hedgerows and woods of the country, the stateliness and dignity of Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral. The students will enjoy the vicarious visit as much as you will enjoy the reminiscence.

Student Magazines

Classroommagazines,suchasScholasticScope,Action, andLiterary Cavalcade, and the Xerox publication Read, often contain plays students enjoy reading in class. Once they have gained familiarity with the plot, they are moved to read the book or story on which the play version was based, or they may become interested in other books by the same author.Particularly recommended is "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," the Hawthorne story which appeared in a dramatic version in Scope.Don't throw away those copies of Literary Cavalcade.Often little dramatic jewels appear which may make the literature come alive to students.

My Favorite Author Classroom visits from authors usually result in students seeking out books written by that person. However, school budgets often preclude such activities. A program called "My Favorite Author" is available through the county media offices. Young adult writers such as Scott O'Dell, Carol Brink, and Wilson Rawls are interviewed by students who ask questions about their lives and books. A teacher's guide to their books is included in the program.

102 Television Once in a while, watch the shows your students are watching, as you will gain insight into their jargon, references, dress, and behavior. You can then use what is familiar to their. to interest them in books.For example, an episode of Hill Street Blues once had Bobby Hill win a lottery. How we''lis "great expectations" affected by his behavior, how much by luck, how much by the demands of other people?--a nice discussion to ease into Pip's Great Expectations. Newspapers, cartoons, paintings and posters, ballet and theater, music--all of the media can be used to "hook" students and provide a starting point for the discussion of serious literary works. Students are affected by the media--we cannot deny that.Our task, then, is to avail ourselves of the positive opportunities the media present and use them to awaken students to the possibilities that lie beyond the media--the world of books.

SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE

"Readingto enlarge expe7:ence,toconfront greatissues,toenjoy the panorama of the great human comedy, to test moral convictions and to watch the rainbow-change of artistic consciousness is the goal of a reading program" (Point of View 11). Such goals should not be the sole responsibility of the English teacher--but should instead be seen as a schoolwide, communitywide responsibility. An informal program which includes parents,teachers, and students can help to create a renaissance in reading. o If your school has a Booster Club (usually for the promotion of athletics), get members involved in increasing student reading. For example, the Booster Club could show its support of this new emphasis by purchasing multiple copies of paperback titles--an enormous help when the department has run low of funds and a teacher is eager to introduce a new book. o Encourage a school service club to organizes a "trading library" where books, set up on a table during nutrition break or lunch, can be "purchased" with another book. Teachers and parents can be involved in donating books to the "library."

103 110 -.. 'i! I o Post a list in every classroom (not just English rooms) of the ten titles most frequently checked out of the school library. This information could also be included in the local newspaper--good public relations to show the new emphasis onreading! For adeluxeedition(and more school-wide involvement), ask graphic arts students to design a "flyer" describing these titles and duplicate it in the school print shop. o Enlist the services of the PTA, encouraging them to hold contests connected with books or to sponsor book fairs,selling both hardback titles and paperbacks at the school site. Book fairs need not be confined to elementary schools.Buying books at a book fair is contagious; with its profit, the PTA can contribute to the purchase of new library titles. o Create an interdepartmental list of supplemental titles of nonfiction or extraliterary works so that students have a sense of reinforcement in other classes.They should also have opportunities to earn concurrent credit for their supplemental readings. Historical fiction gives flesh to the sometimes dry-bones of history texts.Masterpieces of art and music also become more intriguing when seen in context. Biographies help students to see beyond the "mad" scientists and calculating mathematicians, to understand the inspiration motivating great scientists,painters, and composers, and to comprehend the genius behind a current success story whether it be in the world of athletics, business, cooking, or the auto industry. Fictionalized case studies expand on theories introduced in psychology classes. Essays in recent magazines explain our changing worlds in science, technology, and current events. All classrooms should provide relevant reading lists, so that students will begin to see that outside, broad-based reading is more than an English assignment.By sharing the enjoyment others experience through reading, students may come to discover the joy for themselves.

104 INTEGRATING LANGUAGE ARTS

If we are truly to teach literature to all students, we will have greater success if we accommodate a variety of learning styles and use the reinforcement that the other language arts bring to the students' reading. "Students actively respond to the central works through integrated writing, speaking and listening activities" (MCS #9).Not only is the students' grasp of what they read helped by these activities, but the separate language arts are often more readily acquired in the meaningful context of a piece of literature than in isolation.For example in paraphrasing the poem "Ozymandias," studentsaresimultaneouslyexercisingcriticalthinkingskills, extending their vocabulary and heightening their awareness of diction. While the individual form such integration can take varies with each teacher, the following pages present model integrated units on four works from four different genres, all concerned with the theme "The Search for Justice and Dignity."The following chart presents an overview of the units; the remaining pages repeat the description with more specific details. Note:Using every activity in these fulsome treatments would surely result in "overkill."These model units serve as a miscellany from which teachers can make selections and modifications.

105 I. 2 THE SEARCH FOR

DRAMA AUTOBIOGRAPHY

DEATH OF A SALESMAN I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS FOCUS/GOALS* FOCUS/GOALS 1. To study the struggle of the 1. To see how the main character, individual to find personal dig- through her struggle to mature nity in a materialistic society. as a black female, evolves into a 2. To provide an experience person who has a strong feeling of demonstrating that the process self-worth. of maturation never ends. 2. To connect in writing students' own experience with the author's.

WAYS INTO LITERATURE 1. Literature Journals: 1.In small groups, make a list of A. Define what is meant by the problems that teenagers face when "American Dream." growing up. Discuss whether there B. Describe someone, real or imag- are any problems that could be con- inary, who is successful in our sidered typically male or female. society. Each group presents to class. 2. Prepare a collage or poster rep- 2.Literature Journals: After reading resenting the American Dream. Dunbar's "Sympathy," as a large group attempt to define discrimination. Then write in journals about a time you felt discriminated against. WAYS THROUGH LITERATURE 1. Read at least the first scene 1.In small groups, after reading Chap- aloud. ter 5 discuss what the "contest" was, 2. Literature Journals: Jot whether/how "Momma had won," and down brief summaries of each dream what they think Maya learned from sequence and tell what the sequence the incident. shows about Willy and his friends. 2.In small groups, after reading Chap- ter 32 discuss why Maya didn't call her mother immediately and what the result of her decision was. WAYS BEYOND LITERATURE

1. Teacher presents a list of con- 1.Prepare an oral presentation/ flicts in the play. In pairs the interpretation by giving a students look for examples and sym- dramatic reading of the poem bols that represent the conflict. "Sympathy" interspersed with read- Journaliting follows. ings of incidents taken from our 2. Interview someone who is a sales- own lives. person. As'c them the favorable and 2.Write a stylistic imitation of Dr. King's unfavorable aspects of the work. speech "I Have a Dream" using Check the play to see if their Maya's voice. ideas coincide with Willy's.

*These are tasks for students unless,the teacher is explicitly addresced. See following pages for full treatment of approaches to these texts. 106 1 12 JUSTICE AND DIGNITY

HISTORY POETRY

FAREWELL TO MANZANAR OZYMANDIAS FOCUS/GOALS FOCUS/GOALS 1. To show how the members of the 1. To explore the question: What is Wakatsuki family struggled to dignity? maintain dignity in an unjust 2. To become aware of the fleeting society. nature of power and fame. 2. To investigate that time in American history, seemingly at odds with the spirit of democracy, when Americans were imprisoned by Americanswhen, how, why, to whom.

1. As a home assignment, interview 1.Literature Journal: How would parents or grandparents to deter- you want people to remember you? mine their ancestry and report on Based on the artifacts you would any injustices perpetrated upon leave behind, what would future their ancestors. generations think of you? 2.in small groups, share informa- 2. The teacher shows slides of Egyptian tion from interviews and present statues and pyramids. present findings to class.

1. Teacher could invite a guest 1. Literature Journals: record your speaker who lived in an internment initial reaction to poem and to camp for a first-hand perspective. Ozymandias. 2. Read the book in three sections 2. Visualization: Circle descriptive focusing on how each member of words in poem. As poem is read, the family exemplifies dignity several of you draw poem and courage in the face of on chalkboard. injustice.

1. Conduct a a mock trial of our 1. Extended Writing: What statue, government's policy of intern- building, work of art, etc., do you ment during WWII. think will survive and remain useful 2. Write persuasive letters to the in later years? Why? Share in small legislators regarding repara- groups. tions for those who were 2. Some of you may wish to do inde- interned. pendent research of Shelley's brief productive life. DETAILED WAYS OF INTEGRATING THE LANGUAGE ARTS WITH TEACHING IN VARIOUS GENRES

DEATH OF A SALESMAN Arthur Miller

FOCUS/GOALS 1. To study the struggle of the individual to find personal dignity in a materialistic society. 2. To provide students with an experience demonstrating that the process of maturation never ends.

Ways INTO the Literature

1.Journal Entries: a.Define what is meant by the "American Dream."

b.Describe someone, real or imaginary, who is successful in our society.

2.Prepare a collage or poster representing the American Dream. 3. Ask students to look for Willy's dream as they read.

4.In groups, have students read stage directions at the beginning of the play. Then have them draw pictures of the set as they visualize it or create models of the set to present to class.

Ways THROUGH the Literature 1. Read at least the first scene aloud, either the teacher alone, or the teacher and students, pointing out positions of characters on set drawing. Note: It is recommended that students read the entire play aloud, if time allows, pausing to discuss, write journals, analyze in groups.

2.Literature Journals:

a.While reading, students should make notes regarding Willy's goals and dreams. b. Students jot down brief summaries of each dream sequence and tell what the sequence shows about Willy and his family.

108 1 5 c.Personal commentary:

1)Describe Biff as if he were a student in your school.

2)Would you like Willy as a friend? What are his strengths and weaknesses?

3) Do you knew anyone like Willy, Biffor Happy? 4) Choose a quotation and explain, what itmeans to you. 3. Speaking Activities

a.Choose scenes to be acted, assign roles and act outor videotape. b. At the end of Act I, assign the following questions togroups for discussion and class presentation:

1) Find quotations in which Willyexpresses self-doubt.Discuss them and choose the most important or revealing one to explain to the class. 2) Find the frequent explanations that Biff makesabout what is wrong with Willy. List these quotations and write a statement summarizing his ideas.

3)List all the speeches b. which Biff reveals his dream for himself.What does he want out of life?

4)Find and list all uses of flute music in Act I.What is being signaled by the flute? c. At the end of Act H, use the same groups and assign scenes to be analyzed in depth, explaining how the scene furthers the action of the play. d.Integrate vocabulary study by having students keepa list in their journals of all unfamiliar words they encounter, sharing and comparing lists from time to time.Have each student choose three or four word;; to teach tothe class using context clues, root definitions, or any other vocabulary technique.

Ways BEYOND the Literature 1. The .ner presents a brief lecture on Arthur Miller's life. Students take notes, then write an analysis of the play in which they discuss the influence of Miller's life on the play.

2. The teacher presents a list of conflicts in the play.In pairs the students look for examples and symbols that represent the conflict. Journal writing follows. 3. Literature Journals:

a.Could Willy's problem have been solved by going to work forCharley? Explain.

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I 1 G b.Write about lying or stealing. Why do people do it?Is it ever acceptable? c. After reading this play, would you go to work as a salesman? Why? Why not?

4.Essay Assignments: a. Compare or contrast Willy's search for dignity to that of the narrator in Invisible Man. b. This play is included in a unit entitled "Search for Justice and Dignity." How does this play relate to the theme?

5.Additional Assignments:

a.Write a resume for Willy Loman. Check newspaper ads to see jobs for which he might qualify. b. Interview some salespersons.Ask them about the favorable and unfavorable aspects of their work.Check the play to see if their ideas coincide with 1Villy's.

c.Write a newspaper account of Willy's death. Be sure to inciu6c details about his life.

d.Panel discussion topics: 1) Some people feel this play is depressing.Discuss whether or not this is true. 2)Is Denth of a Salesman a tragedy? 3)Is our materialistic society responsible for Willy's death?

I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS

Maya Angelou

FOCUS/GOALS

1. To see how the main character, through her struggle to mature as a black female, evolves into a person who has a strong feeling of self-worth. 2. To connect in writing the students' own experience with the author's.

Ways INTO the Literature

1.The class brainstorms for information about the 1930's, the teacher supplying further background as needed, particularly concerning economic conditions and the status of the Blacks in the South, North, and West. 110

1 1 7 2. The teacher reads the poem "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar tothe class (the title of Angelou's novel is taken from the poem), andafter discussion posts a copy of Dunbar's poem to refer to as the unit progresses.

3.In small groups, students list what they consider to be problems thatteenagers face when growing up. They discuss whether thereare any problems that could considered typically male or female. Each group presents to the class. 4.Literature Journal:

a.In response to reading Dunbar's poem "Sympathy," the class attempts to define discrimination. The students then write in journals abouta time that they felt discriminated against.

b. After the class discussion of teen-age problems, students addressone of the problems, writing in their journals their ideas about the problem'scause and solutions.

Ways THROUGH the Literature

1. The beautiful cadence of this book demands that at leastsome chapters be read aloud. The teacher may wish to assign chapters to be read aloud by students with emphasis on dramatic reading.

2. To better understand the actions/reactions of the narrator, theteacher may arrange for a representative from a Child Assault Prevention team or similar agency to give a presentation on sexual /emotional abuse of children and/or invite students to bring in articles related to the issue. 3. Small group discussion topics: a. Chapter 5--discuss what the "contest" was, whether/how "Momma had won," and what Maya learned from the incident.

b. Chapter 32--discuss why Maya didn't call her mother immediately andwhat the result of her decision was. 4.Reading Log topics:

a.Chapter 15Write about a person who has affectedyour life in some positive way. b.Chapter i7--Create a conversation between Maya and her grandmother in which Maya explains why she will no longer be working for Mrs. Cullinan.

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1 1 8 BEYOND the Literature

1.Writing Assignments:

a.After reading about significant incidents in Maya's life, the students describe an important incident in their own lives, giving the reader a clear sense of the writer before, during, and after the incident. b.Using the structure of Chapter 24 as an example, students write about an event as it actually happened and how they wished it would have happened. 2. Speech Activities: a. Have studentsprepare anoral presentation/interpretation by giving a dramatic reading of the poem "Sympathy" interspersed with readings of incidents taken from the novel and from their own lives. b. Have students prepare a debate on quotation: "You don't have to think about doing the right thing.If you're for the right thing, then you will do it without thinking" (p. 246).

3.Extended Reading/Writing Assignments: a. Read the short story "The Sky is Grey" taken from the Ernest J. Gaines collection, Bloodline. b. Have students write a stylistic imitation of Dr. King's speech, "I Have a Dream," using Maya's voice.

FAREWELL TO MANZANAR Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James Ilouston

FOCUS/GOALS 1. To show students how the members of the Wakatsuki family struggled to maintain dignity in an unjust society. 2. To investigate that time in American history, seemingly at odds with the spirit of democracy, when Americans were imprisoned by Americans--when, how, why, by whom.

Ways INTO the Literature

1.As a home assignment, students interview parents or grandparents to determine their ancestry and report on any injustices perpetrated upon their ancestors.

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1 1 3 2.In small groups, students share information from interviews and present findings to class.

3.In literature journals, students respond to the question, "II the country ofyour ancestry should declare war on America, how do you think you would be treated? 4. Students respond to the poem "What Do I Remember of the Evacuation?" by answering this question in their journals:If I were forced to evacuate and had to give up my possessions other than those I could hand-carry, which would I take and why?

Ways THROUGH the Literature

1.Small groups present oral reports to the class in tie following topics: a.Present highlights from the immigrant experience of the Japanese from the latter part of the nineteenth century to the present. b. What were the influences of the Japanese- Americanson the building of America? C insider contributions to various fields such as architecture, design, horticulture, mathematics, sciences, etc. c. Why and how did the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor? d. How did the Japanese-Americans help America during the war? e.What was the position of the Supreme Court regarding the constitutionality of the curfew and evacuation of Japanese-Americans from their homes? Suggested bibliographic references for the above oral reports: a.Daniels, Concentration Camps USA (New York: Holt, 1971) (question D). b.Davis, Behind Barbed Wire (New York: Dutton, 1982) (question C).

c.Dowdell,The Japanese Helped Build America (New York:Messner, 1970) (question B).

d.,Jeodging, Americans Betrayed (Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1949) (question E). e.Weglyn, Years of Infamy (New York: Morrow, 1976) (question A). 2. To help students gain a first-hand perspective, the teachercan invite a guest speaker who lived in an internment camp.

3.Students interview a family member or friend who served in WWII. 4. Students read tht. book in three sections focusing on how each member of the family exemplifies dignity and courage in the face of injustice. 5. Students will need to learn the following terms: Issei, Nisei, and Sansei.

113 120 6. The teacher assigns some of the following guided reading questions and activities:

a.flow does Mr. Wakatsuki, an Issei (first generation immigrated to U.S.), become disillusioned, yet keep his dignity while clinging to his heritage? b. How does Mrs. Wakatsuki survive the indignities? c. How does Woody, a Nisei (second generation American citizen by birth), preserve his dignity by his visit to his father's birthplace at Ka-ke? d. How does Jeanne, a Nisei, struggle with her nationalistic identity and bring dignity to her cultural heritage?

e.On page 190, paragraph 2, Jeanne is struggling with her cultural identity. Write in your literature journal a stylistic imitation of how you might struggle with a similar parental situation.

f.How did thole who were confined by barbed wire and armed guards make the camp bearable?

g.Build a scaled model of Manzanar showing how a desolate area was made not only bearable, but livable and pleasant.

Ways BEYOND The Literature

1.Students view the film of same title, comparing and contrasting with the book its visual detail, depth of character, and emotional impact.

2.Students conduct a mock trialof government's policy of internment during WWII. The class can be divided into two groups called the Defense and the Prosecution, each group researching their positions well.

3.Students write persuasive letters to the legislators regarding reparations for those who were interned.

4.Students ponder ',,he implications of the early Japanese custom "that you do not show your emotion on your sleeve," and how this custom affects one's dignity.

5.Students write a paragraph expressing what their frustrations would be when losing possessions which were supposedly being guarded by the government.

6.Students write letters between Jeanne in the camp and her friend at home, dating the letters, and having each correspondent write at least twice. 7.Students write an essay based on knowledge of the history and culture of the Japanese people. To what degree is this book a product of the culture? 8. Students compare Manzanar with the German concentration camp in I Am Rose Marie.

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121 OZYMANDIAS Percy Bysshe Shelley

FOCUS/GOALS 1. To explore the question: What is dignity?

2. To discover how an individual can maintain hisdignityin an increasingly materialistic society. 3. To create student awareness of the language and artistry of the sonnet form- a form which, in itself, inspires dignity. 4. To make students aware of the fleeting nature of power and fame.

Ways INTO the Poem

1.Questions for Literature Journals a. How would you want people to remember you?Based on the artifacts you would leave behind, what would future generations think of you?

b. What do the objects in your home (bedroom) say about you to you? to someone else? c. Do people stop contributing after their death? Think of Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln.What could you do to guarantee that you had made your contribution?

2.Class Activities

a. Discuss Shelley's life (he died at 29).Begin thinking about what contributions he may have made.

b. Discuss RamesesII,Pharaoh of Egyptinthethirteenth century B.C. Ozymandias is the Greek name for Rameses II, who was a great builder of temples and palaces as well as of statues of himself. c. Show slides of Egyptian statues and pyramids.

Ways THROUGH the Poem 1. The teacher may read the poem aloud to the class or ask a student, in advance, to prepare to read it to the class.

2. Log entry: Students record their initial reaction to thepoem and to Ozymandias. 3. Visualization:The students circle all descriptive words in poem.Now the teacher rereads poem. As poem is read, have two or three students draw the

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:-..1 L 12 poem on chalkboard.Journal:Did your understanding of poem change after having seenthedrawing ontheboard? Do youagreewithartistic interpretations? 4. Topics for small group discussions: a. What did Ozymandias leave behind him when he died? b. What did he think he was leaving behind? c.What did he think of his people? of the dignity of man?

d.Discuss the irony of lines: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" e. What are the passions of the king judging from the expression on the statue's face?

Ways BEYOND the Poem

Various Assignments:

1.Discuss the poet's word choice (the use of "antique" rather than "ancient"); the poet's use of understatement.

2.Respond to these questions in your literature journal: a. Does Ozymandias still inspire respect? Have your feelings about him changed? Do you like or dislike him? Do you respect him? b. Evaluate the selection in relation to theme, "The Search for Justice and Dignity." Do other poems fit this theme?

3.In your small group, discuss what the broken statue symbolizes. Share ideas with class. 4. Extended writing assignments: a.Describe a statue, building, work of art, etc., that you think will survive and remain useful in later years. Explain your choice. Share in small groups. b. Using thestatue, building chosen above, write a stylisticimitation of "Ozymandias" incorporating one or more ideas from the unit. 5. Extended Reading Assignments--Read Stephen Vincent Benet's short story "By the Waters of Babylon" and relate it to "Ozymandias" and the justice and dignity theme. 6. Do independent eesearch on Shelley's brief productive life.

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123 One Method of Developing Style in WritingFor All Students: Creative Imitation

The MCS and Point-of-View Statement both refer to the importance of developing a readable style of writing.How do we develop this?First, through reading stylistically well-written works.Second, through practice and awareness. But a third route to stylistic authenticity and originality runs through imitation. Stylisticimitation means the rhetorical practice of copying,simulating, and emulating models.Its very constraints force certain kinds of creativity; itis creative imitation. The student observes closely a piece of writing and emulates the model, either as a whole (but using a different subject) or by imitating certain features, like its presentation of details, its use of metaphor,or its pleasant tone. Exact imitation stimulates an interplay between words and ideas thatamazes writers.The attempt to emulate good writers teaches the young writers what quality writing is, in all its particularities, and further, shows them what itmeans to have an honest voice, an individual world view and a searching mind.Pieces of literature imitated creatively are ideal for modeling style. We offera brief outline to explain the rationale for imitation, various kinds of imitation, anda few examples.

Rationale

It's the oldest, most enduring form of pedagogy, and weuse it in teaching other skills regularly (painting, music, mechanics). Published writers' testimony confirms that many of them taught themselves to write this way. Because its fun, never quite serious and never offering a blank page, imitation reduces anxiety.It also forces very close reading, totally involves students and challenges them. Much about language is learned unconsciously, indirectly, while we're doing something else. As students copy or imitate passages, ideas, vocabulary, mechanics, sentence structures and genre modes are insinuating theirway into the linguistic corners of their minds.

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,t 104 Kinds of Imitation * Basic Writers Copy short, interesting materials. Write dictation for plausible reason. Make small changes, but produce whole texts. Intermediate Students Change singular subjects to plurals in an interesting paragraph, writing it all out carefully. Change passive to active voice in a piece. Rewrite an adult essay or paragraph for a child as audience. Learn grammar through patterns. Learn mechanics through whole, meaningful passages. Better Writers Use models generally as guides. Do exact stylistic imitation of relevant passages or of figures of speech. Use the same topic sentence, but provide different examples. Emulate tone or ways of thinking about material. Imitate the way the model is original.

Student Examples of Imitations Original: Mark Twain, from his Autobiography As I have said, I spent some part of every year at the farm until I was twelve or thirteen years old. The life which I led there with my cousins was full of charm and so is the memory of it yet.I can call back the solemn twilight and the mystery of deep woods,the earthy smells, the faint odors of the wild flowers,the sheen of rain-washed foliage, the rattling clatter of drops when the wind shook the trees, the far-off hammering of woodpeckers and the muffled drumming of woodpheasants in the remoteness of the forest, the snapshot glimpses (If disturbed wild creatures

*From a manuscript by Patricia Simmons-Taylor to be published by Little, Brown, 1987. See also Benjamin Franklin's use of imitation in his passage in Chapter 7.

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,Is-:ii. 125 scurrying through the grass--I can call it all back and make itas real as it ever was, and as blessed.I can call back the prairie, and its loneliness and peace, and a vast hawk hanging motionless in the sky with his wings spread wide and the blue of the vault showing through the fringe of their end-feathers.I can see the woods in their autumn dress, the oaks purple, the hickories washed with gold, the maples and the sumacs luminous with crimson fires, and I can hear the rustle made by the fallen leaves as we plowed through them. I can see the blue clusters of wild grapes hanging amongst the foliage of the saplings, and I remember the taste of them and the smell.

Student Imitation It was a haven from the college grind, that Green Giant asparagus farm where I spent my summers working my way through school.The huge metal-walled shop stood back against the long shelterbelts of poplars; and next to it, opposite the little scale house, was the hydrocooler, the other side of the hydrocooler sat the great red water tank that stored water for the cooler; and beyond that was an impressive array of equipment. The green and yellow John Deere tractors in assorted sizes, the little Ford and Oliver tractors, assorted discs, and the cultivators with the spinning spiders that kept the fields clear of weeds; ditchers, spreaders, seeders, mowers, sprayers, blades--I can't remember it all.... I can still remember changing pipes in nothing but gym shorts and tennis shoes with swarms of bees humming all around me in the fern and never once was I stung. I remember disturbing countless quail and pheasants; and once in a while catchinga brief glimpse of a coyote or jackrabbit.T. remember freezing hands in early spring, when frost covered the pipes in the early morning, and burning hands in late summer, when a line had lain in the hot sun for a day or so.I know the sweet taste of grapes liberated from the next field, and the bitter taste of raw potato from another neighboring unit.

Original: Herman Melville, from Moby Dick Call me Ishmael. Some years ago--never mind how long precisely--having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.... Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in

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L 4.12G my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off -then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball.With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly take to the ship.There is nothing surprising in this.If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the sea with me.

Student's Lighthearted Imitation

Call me Daffy.Some weeks ago--I don't recall how long precisely--having plenty of Daddy's credit cards in my purse, and nothing particular to keep me in the Long Island winter, I decided to jet down to Mummy's Key West cottage and enjoy the warmer part of the world.It is a way I have of driving off the chills and getting away from the City.Whenever I find myself tiring of waiting in line outside Studio 54 on those cold, slushy winter evenings; whenever I find myself involuntarily turning to the travel section in Sunday's Times, and checking on the weather in St. Tropez; and especially when my girlfriends boast of their recent sojourns to the sun, and show off their bronze suntans to the pale New Yorkers--then I account it high time to call the travel agent as soon as I can. Others may take to the slopes or cruise Alaska, but I peacefully head for far-off beaches. There is nothing surprising in this.If they just knew it, almost all preps would, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards fine golden sands as me.

* * *

If you choose to trythis approach, do it yourself first.Choose a poem, paragraph or quotation you enjoy. Then choose a topic that you want to think about and follow closely, imitating the style of the original. Relax as you write. In the classroom, you can have students choose from any well-written source and do as you did. Their teacher of style will be the writer they choose to emulate.

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1 .. 12'+ 4 CHAPTER 6

THE STUDENT:

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

in which we see students planting managing shaping and relishing their own educational vineyards

121 128 WHAT COLLABORATIVE LEARNING GROUPS LOOK LIKE

Topics for Great Gatsby

Group 2 Moral Implications of Power Structures: Cities Business Government Organized Crime Group 1 Group 3 Attitudes toward Gatsby as Part of American Dream: the Grail Legend, Narrator's Quest Literature Ga tsby's (library work) Yours

Group 4 Group 7 Symbols and Meaning Who Are Today's Color Ga tsbys? Green-money, hope What To Do? Yellow-corruption Other Valley of Ashes

Group 6 Group 5 Levels of Daisy's Relationships: Develop men t: in Gatsby As Gatsby Sees Her The Eternal Triangle As Narrator Sees Her (Tom-Daisy-Gatsby) As You See Her in Literature in Life

Groups Each Report Their Findings to Class as a Whole.

122t29 Chapter 6

THE STUDENT:

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.

--W. B. Yeats

And growth is what happens in collaborative learning when the students work together and take increased responsibility for their own learning.In small groups or in twos, they discover ideas and remember them, develop a sense of responsibility and become better listeners, thinkers, speakers, and writers. The Model Curriculum Standards put the teacher-student relationship at the heart of the educational experience.In collaborative learning, this relationship is not so much hierarchical as democratic. The teacher is adviser to a network of learners, leader to an orchestra, coach to a hardworking team. The student's perception of himself comes partly from the teacher. The Greeks taught that each person resembles the individual with whom he associates.In our generation Eric Hoffer wrote, "It is not so much the example of others we imitate, as the reflection of ourselves in their eyes and the echo of ourselves in their words." So theteacher allows complimentary reflections and echoes (bothteacher's and students') to resonate in the classroom. Instead of giving answers, teachers try to lead students in their discovery. They defend their pupils against too much dependence on them. They see the object of education as developing the mind of the student so that each person will be able to pass judgments on events as they arise, each one making decisions. We believe that a mind once stretched in this way doesn't go back to its original shape.

123 130 The collaborative learning process is antididactic. Itis not the teacher imparting his knowledge via the lecture.It's the student's own inquiry which leads him to intellectual and insightful discovery. We know that comprehension increases when students want to find out what a writer means and they are able to share their ideas with their peers in a nonpressured situation.

We believe that the opposite of education is manipulation and that it iswrong. Erich Fromm in The Art of Loving points out that manipulation is "basedon the absence of faith in the growth of potentialities, and on the conviction that a child will be right only if' the adults put into him what is desirable and suppress whatseems to be undesirable" (p.124).The mind is not a storehouse to be filled; it is an instrument that makes its music increasingly well.We should be encouraging curiosity, open-mindedness, objectivity, respect for evidence and the capacity to think critically--qualities that look to the future, to new situations in the worldour children, not we, will know.

Why Collaborative Learning Works

Research shows that students learn best when they are actively engaged with materials they are studying and when they are actively manipulating those materials by making inferences and then generalizing from those inferences. Using large and small group discussions, panels, debates, and projects, the student!: working as a group see the uniqueness and worth of each contributing member. Approval as well as growth comes from the group and the teacher. Goethe believed that "correction does much, but encouragement does more; encouragement after censure is as the sun after a shower." Teachers help students develop effective small group processes. Students learn to speak to a purpose, truly listen, elicit honest response, and generously give each other constructive suggestions (Model Curriculum Standard #17). Students read and "revise" reading insights through group work. The teacher as facilitator sets up the learning conditions, guides, organizes, anr.; delegates, andthe students become active, questioning learners.

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131 How Collaborative Learning Works

Small Groups are Used

o for discussion of ideas, themes, novels, poems, short stories o for imaginative re-creation; for turning chapters of a novel or short stories into radio or television plays

o for other project work

o for oral reading practice, e.g., pupils read their own short stories to the group

o for discussion prior to writing tasks

o for improvised drama

o for receiving feedback on drafts and responding to other students' writing (Students in two's can do everything the small groups do andare especially good at proofreading each other's work.)

At the end of the small group session, students enjoy being asked

o how their group worked

o where they had problems

o how they overcame problems

o how the teacher might assist them more effectively the next time

The Whole Class is Used

o for focus sessions at the beginning of a unit

o for summarizing at the end of a unit

o for groups reporting back to the class

o for the shared experience of the novel, poem, play, short story, essay

125 How to Know When Group Work is Working When we all think alike, no one thinks very much.

--Lippmann

The teacher can have the class come up with their own standards for a good group discussion or the teacher can synthesize these points and theirs:

o Each person contrtbutes to the group effort.

o Every member listens and builds on the comments and observations of the others.

o One person acts as a recorder for the group and another as a reporter (back) to the large group (see the evaluation chart). The teacher goes from group to group listening and asking relevant and/or provocative questions of groups which are slow in starting. The students should hear these questions both here and in the large group discussion so they can model their own discussion queries. As Albert Schweitzer said, "Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." The follow-up in the large group brings it all together.It is in the large group that students will feel a satisfaction in hearing their own contributions and in appreciating other equally valid points of view.

Intangible Considerations for Collaborative Learning oEnthusiasm of the teacher is crucial.But how do you get enthusiasm into your life?The author and film director, Gordon Parks, put it this way: "You act enthusiastically until you make it a habit. Enthusiasm is natural; it is being alive, taking the initiative, seeing the importance of what you do, giving it dignity and making what you do important to yourself and to others."It is a mental and emotional frame of being--not "bubbliness." o What we are as persons is as important as what we teach. We model values and behavior.

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I :33 oHumor belongs in the classroom. If it is true that there's no laughter in a perfect world, the classroom should resound in laughter at least a few times a day. The Greeks believed that serious things cannot be understood without laughable things. oIt's important to develop rapport. Group responses allow students to learn about what humans can feel and why and the effects such feelings may have and

especially about the many ways in whiLn feelings gain depth through joiningUD with understanding. oIf the secret of education lies in respecting the pupil, then the collaborative teacher discloses that secret through providing a supportive, nonthreatening atmosphere. And here we might note a danger in collaboration.What a reader/writer wantsto accomplish can be subverted by others' needs and interests.Writers need to keep a sense of ownership and authority about what they've written.Readers must feel any intense meaning a book or poem has for them will be respected inviolate. These prime relationships to one's ideasor one's favorite books complicate any "help" given. Groups thus need to have continually reinforced the importance of mutual respect and support.

127 I 3 1, GROUP EVALUATION LITERATURE

Questioning and Other Name Preparation Participation Clarification Criteria

The above form may be used by the teacher, by a group member, or by all group members for self-evaluations. Also, teachers may design an evaluation checklist derived from the criteria established for the assignment, and design a detailed scoring guide for students to evaluate their own work as well as that of their peers.

128 1.15 SPECIFIC CLASSROOM APPLICATIONS OF COLLABORATIVE LEARNING 1. The Expert Group Technique

The magic of first love is our ignorance that itcan ever end. --Romeo and Juliet

The expert group technique means each group becomes highlyknowledgeable about one issue or facet of a work--like a study of "first love" referredto above. By using the expert group technique, studentscan comprehend in-depth difficult literary works like those of Shakespeare.

As preliminary activities for this technique, the students readthe play, listen to tapes, discuss issues. To facilitate the expertgroup process, the teacher provides each group with a discussion question.

Representative Discussion Questions: Romeo and Juliet

1. Find and discuss memorable quotations and/or important imagesused in the play. Write brief explanations of how these relate to characters and issues. 2. Consider to what extent the tragedy lccurs because of fate (Romeo andJuliet are star-crossed lovers) or because of human failures. Discuss and then writea brief position statement to support each point of view.

3. Discuss Lord Capulet and Friar Lawrence in terms of what difficultiesthey faced and how they responded to their problems. Writea paragraph for each of them.

4. Justify or challenge Romeo's and Juliet'sresponses to their situation. Support each point of view with evidence from the play.

5. Discuss and then list the main or important events ofthe play using the terms of exposition, rising action, turning point, falling action,climax, and resolution in order to appreciate the artistic structure of the play. 6. Discuss and list the major issues of the play thatare relevant for today's audience. What are the modern parallels?The student may want to consider Romeo and Juliet as lovers from feuding families,Juliet as a child of controlling parents, or the Capulets as caring/domineering parents.

In the groups the students review the play and discusstheir specific question. Ean student writes their response and then thegroup plans a presentation as a panel of experts.

129 Each group presents its panel of experts who are then questioned by the class and the teacher. The teacher either assigns a writing activity or gives a test as a follow-up to this experience.

Evaluation of This Method By the Students: After a group learning experience, an evaluator reports on the process observed by marking appropriate categories on a checklist. All participants may give a self-evaluation.

By the Teacher: After students complete their evaluation of collaborative learning, the teacher evaluates the process, considering individual contributions and assigning group and/or individual grades.

Discussing ethical and cultural issues in the small groups can lead to a high qua)Ay of oral presentations and can enable the student to develop writing assignments using the appropriate voice and style.

2. Collaborative Learning in Teaching a Poem

Musee Des Beaux Arts About suffering they were never wrong, The Old Masters: how well they understood Its human position; how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.

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1 :3 In Brueghel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turnsaway Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughmanmay Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry, But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone As it had to on the white legs disappearing into thegreen Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must haveseen Something amazing, a boy falling'out of the sky, Had somewhere to get to and sailed calmlyon.

--W. H. Auden 1940

(Chief Modern Poets of Britain and America, selected anded. by Gerald De Witt Sanders, John Herbert Nelson, and M. L. Rosenthal (London: Macmillan, 1970), pp. 1368-369.)

An Assignment Sequence

Ways INTO "Musee des Beaux Art" by W. H. Auden

oThe teacher shows slides of the "Old Masters." After defining what ismeant by the term, the class comes to an agreementon the characteristics of the old painters and their subjects on canvas. oThe teacher gives a prewriting activity on "Great art transcendsthe shortcomings and survives the death of its creator; it cannot changethe world, but it does affect the way in which we perceive the world." Thestudents are to take a stand on this concept or others the poem suggests; and then explore, extend, and support the thesis they have chosen. oIn small read-around groups the students will exchange ideas,talk, share, and select two or three papers on art as the most original andwell thought-out. These will be discussed in the large group. oStudents will be encouraged to visit amuseum and observe the Old Masters in contrast to the more modern paintings. They will report back tothe class what they have observed re differences in the subjects chosen and the style of each. oGroups will report back to the class on the following topics: a.The myth of Icarus

b.The sixteenth-century Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel and hismanner of reflecting major and commonplace events

c.A slide of Brueghel's "The Fall of Icarus" with Icarus pointedout (only his legs are visible) and the observations concerning eachperson in the painting in this moment of time

1 3 1 I3",.. Ways THROUGH "Musee des Beaux Arts" oThe teacher reads the poem aloud or uses a recording (the students need to hear models for phrasing, inflections, emphasis). o Groups are assigned these tasks:

a. Discussing how the point of view of the speaker influences the poem and our reading and understanding of it

b. Finding difficulties and ambiguities in the poem that might invite differences of interpretation(Consider "miraculous birth" and "dreadful martyrdom")

c. Finding and discussing the relevancy of the poem today

d. Discussing Auden's imagery, technique, tone, and idea, which are repeated by the painting.

Ways BEYOND "Muse des Beaux Arts" oDiscuss your memory of and reaction to significant events in recent history: where you were, what you were doing, what common images you recall. (Teachers may model this by sharing memories and images of the death of President Kennedy or Martin Luther King, for example.) After this "Significant Events" brainstorming and modeling, the student writes on one of the following: a. A diary entry of the student's initial reaction to and memory of a significant event and a response to the event after reflection and time have given it perspective (Both the initial and later responses should be shared with the group)

b. A two-stanza, two-sentence poem modeled after Auden's but inspired by another Brueghel painting c. An essay or poem focusing on a generalization about life inspired by a favorite painter (Readers should be able to visualize the painting from the student's description.)

d. An analysis of why people react with indifference to human suffering, perhaps adopting the persona of a psychologist

e. A discussion of the problem of pain in human society, being specific through examples

f. A student might create a "work of art" inspired by a myth and present it to the class

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13 9 oResponse to writing assignments Read-around groups for each assignment then meet to exchange ideas and respond to each other's writing.

oPublication (old-time ditto or xerox copier) a. Each of the groups selects a student editor b. They choose what they feel are their best works (most original, most profound, most imaginative, most thorough in vision, most poetic, etc.) c.These editors in collaboration with the teacher make the final selection of student papers d. Other students assume responsibilities for typing, laying out the art, and the priikting of the project. The writings are then given to everyone as models. One hopes that student collaboration has then generated new knowledge, new art, and new poetry. The last step in the "Beyond the Text" is student application of their findings to their own lives.

3. Collaborative Learning in Teaching a Novel

Ways INTO The Adventures of Huckleberry firm: Assignments o Write a journal entry about a time when you were part of a group which did something or proposed to do something which you thought was wrong, either because it was illegal or immoral or because someone would be hurt or humiliated by it.How did you feel?What did you do in that situation?What was the outcome? What did you learn from the experience? Share your journal writing with your small group. oDiscussinsmallgroupsatimewhenyouexperiencedprejudiceor discrimination.Inter view a member of your family or a teacher or someone else you know who has experienced discrimination because of racial or ethnic background or sex or age or religious beliefs.Write your interview as a featu.L. story for the school newspaper and/or report your findings orally to the class or to your small group.

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140 oBrainstorm with your small group a list of terms students use to stereotype other students:"schoolboy," "rah rah," "jo-,k," "stoner," and so on.In your journal, speculate about why people label other people and what its effect is on both. Share your thinking with your group.

Ways THROUGH the Literature oKeep a reading log (or use a dialogue journal like the one in the Sample Student Responses at the end of this chapter) during your reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Use it to summarize plot, to record your impressions, to note questions you may have, to make connections to your own experience and the experience of people you know, to copy interesting quotations from the text. Your log should provide you with an excellent study guide, many ideas for writing and thinking, and topics for class or small group discussion. oForm a group with three or four other students in class and select a particular theme or idea from the novel to focus on.Your group will become the class experts on this aspect of the novel and can be called upon by the rest of the class for information. You will present a panel discussion and field questions from the class sometime during the reading.Groups might select the role of women, the theme of loneliness and isolation, biblical references such as Moses and death and rebirth, the role of the river. Groups might also choose to do outside research on Mark Twain, the history of slavery inthis country, or censorship and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

BEYOND the Literature: Writing Assignments oBy the time The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published in 1884, Jim had been "free" for many years.After researching what life was like for Blacks in the postbellum South, describe a day in the life of Jim, a freed slave.Where would he live?What kind of work might he be doing? How much would he earn?How much personal freedom would he have?How would whites treat him? Your paper might take the form of a letter or diary. You might also write

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141 from the point of view of a white Southerner justifying his or her treatment of Jim or from the point of view of a white Northerner appalled at the conditions under which freed slaves live.Consider how your voice and purpose will change depending on the point of view from which you write. oJim and Huck meet again as old men.Consider what might have happened to them in the intervening years and write a dialogue between two old friends. What do you think their attitudes might be? What might have happened to them? How would they talk about old times--the adventures in the novel? oEvery time this country has gone to war, black men and women have fought to preserve democracy anreturned home to discover it did not extend to them. American soldiers of Japanese descent fought in World War II while their families were being held in concentration camps all over the Western United States. Women still earn, on the average, 590 for every $1 menearn.We discriminate against the old, the disabled, the poor.If you were writing a novel about an injustice you wanted to see ended, what might it be? Writea letter to a potential publisher outlining the plot and purpose of your book. oWrite a dialogue between Jim and a blackman or woman in 1985, discussing how much things have changed and/or stayed the same.

4. Collaborative Learning in Teaching a Play

Ways INTO The Crucible by Arthur Miller oIn their journals the students write about issues like the following: Throughout history people have sacrificed their lives for causes that they considered worthy.Choose an historical or literary figure who died for a cause and write about the effects of the individual's sacrifice on society. a. Do we owe our fellow man or woman anything?What do they owe us?

b. What responses, defenses do you have whenyou feel pressured by your friends to do something or think in ways you don't want to? c.Is it more important to you to please yourselfor others? d.What happens to the person who doesn't join in? 135 142

f. Students share their journal responses to these questions in small groups. oGroup members contribute background information for a joint presentation to the class. They select a topic like one of the following: (a) Arthur Miller; (b) Witchcraft in America (1620-1693); (c) Puritanism; (d) the McCarthy era.

Ways THROUGH the Literature oMiller shows us that there is a natural explanation (not a supernatural one) for the tragic loss of life in Salem. Each group selects one of the following motivations and shows how it operates in the various characters in the play:

Group1, jealousy; Group 2, greed; Group 3, vengeance; Group 4, ambition;Group 5, fear;Group 6, hysteria. Students work in groups to gather their information and then present their findings to the class. Students might begin this assignment by first clustering and then organizing their information into a cohesive presentation. oAt the end of Act I, small groups discuss what they think is going to happen. At the end of the book, they compare with other groups their powers of prediction or, after they have finished reading Act II, they write about how their projections have changed.

Ways BEYOND the Literature: Assignments oRead Stephen Vincent Benet's Trials at Salem. Compare the content of the play to the factual account of the trial. oIn small groups select one character who you feel was tested and tell whether you feel he/she passed or failed the test. Justify your choice. oRewrite the ending, supposing that Mary Warren had not succumbed to peer pressure. oWrite a letter to a character in the play and tell him/her how you feel about his/her behavior, ideas, and character in general. (No hasty generalizations here; be sure to go back to the play and take a careful look at your character.) 136

143 oDecide who the bravest characters in The Crucible are and why. oRead Arthur Miller's "On the Nature of Tragedy" and discuss in small group whether or not John Proctor is a tragic hero.

5. Collaborative Learning in Teaching Shakespeare as Part of an American Literature Course

The following ideas not only detail ways to teach Shakespeare's The Tempest collaboratively, but they also show how to integrate the play into an American literature class. To teach a work of Shakespeare during each year of high school is :i.Jeed a worthwhile goal and it helps to implement the Model Curriculum Standards.The following lesson planis a possible method for introducing The Tempest in an American literature class.

Ways INTO The Tempfst oJournal En...,Write an account c f an experience whic:i was totally new to you-- being in a new school, new country, etc. a. How di: you feel? b. How did pc - )1e react to you? c.Did your attitude change? oHand out selections from John Smith's Discourses of Captain Smith, Chapter 7, "The Natives Prove Troublesome." oRead selections aloud. oDiscuss the following in small groups. a. How does John Smith feel about Indians? How do you feel about his attitude? b. How does John Smith feel aboutiself? Give proof from the text.

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144 c. How did the Indians feel about John Smith? Explain. d. Examine the way language is used in the text. What differences and similarities are there to today's language?

Ways THROUGH Literature oDiscuss Prospero as a symbol of art; Caliban as a symbol of nature. oDiscuss the ethical values that this play deals with: Mercy vs. Justice Treachery vs. Loyalty Revenge vs. Forgiveness oFind a copy of Martin Luther King's speech "I Have a Dream." Rewrite it in the words of Ariel.(See sample imitation in Sample Student Responses at the end of this chapter.) oDiscuss the following thematic ideas in the play: a. Love at first sight b. Power and its responsibilities c. Problems of political power d. Takeover by political opponents e. Problems resulting from colonialism o"Caliban is the core of the play;... he is the natural man against whom the cultivated man is measured." Discuss. oApply John Smith's words about the "Savage" to Caliban. o"Prospero is... the representative of art. ...As a mage he controls nature; as a prince he conquers the passions which had excluded him from his kingdom and overthrown law; as a scholar he repairs his loss of Eden; as a man he learns to temper his passions, an achievement essential to success in any of the other activities."(Introduction io The Tempest, edited by Frank Kermode, p.xlviii.) Discuss.

..r. 138

1415 oContrast one of the following: love of Ferdinand--lust of Caliban education of Miranda--education of Caliban magic of Prospero--powers of Caliban oExplain the following: Caliban = brute understanding Ariel = fancy Prospero = imagination

Ways BEYOND Literature oRetell the story for younger children. oCreate a scene in which Prospero meets Dimmesdale.Set up a situation and write the dialogue. oWrite a "next scene" for the play.Prospero is home; Ariel has his freedom; Caliban is ruler of the island. oPrepare a guide to The Tempest for next year's students. o Complete this simulation assignment: You are a psychiatrist. You have just had a session with (choose a character). What suggestions would you make to help him or her become a better person?What character traits would you correct, change, reinforce, improve? Flow? oDiscuss in small groups who the modern Calibans are (South Africans, Nq`ive Americans, etc.?) and how they are treated.Write a paragraph based on your discussion. oAssign the following as extended reading choices: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee When the Legends Di:. House itlade of Dawn Black Elk Speaks Light in the Forest

139 Collaboration, rather than competition, ought to be the model schools offer society.Collaboration achieves more in the world; indeed, that little world of the classroom could collaborate, often does, to reduce the world's nuclear anxiety by improving the quality of the world's communication. For the anxieties of academe also, collaborative learning is the loaf that multiplies in sharing to increase the vision, talent, and imagination of the participants.

Imitation and Dialogue Journals Sample Student Responses

AriePs Version of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream"

I have a dream that I will one day dwell on an island where I will be free and my judgment will be my only restriction.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day this island, whose ruler's lips are presently dripping with the words of revenge and submission, will be transformed into a situation where natives and spirits can enjoy the same freedoms as foreigners. This is my hope.This is the faith with which I return to the calling of my master.With this faith I will be able to hew out of the tempest of despair a spirit of hope. With this faith I will be able to transform the oppressing discords of my island into a beautiful song of release. With this faith I will be able to work with my fellow spirits to play together, to torment together, to chant together, to laugh together, to shout freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all inhabitants will be able to sing with new meaning "My island 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.Lard where Sycorax died, land of Ferdinand's bride, from every oceanside, let freedom ring."

And if here is to be a great island this must become true. So let freedom ring from the fresh springs! Let freedom ring from the brine pits! Let freedom ring from the barren place and fertile!

Let freedom ring from the green-capped trees!

But not only that; let freedom ring from every wave that pounds the shore!

140 147 Let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of this land.Frvm every oceanside, let freedom ring. When freedom is allowed to ring, when it's permitted to ring from every habitat, every cave, every stone, and on every breeze, it will speed up the day when all dwellers, spirits and beasts, kings and dukes, foreigners and natives, will be able to join in voice and sing in the words of my old song, "Free at last! Free at last! Pm no longer dreaming, Pm free at last!"

A Student-Directed Way Through Literature: The Dialogue Journal

What is it? The journal is a double-entry record in which the student takes notes and adds his own reflections while reading literature.It provides him with two columns which are in dialogue with one another. The journal not only develops a method of critical reading but also encourages habits of reflective questioning.

How is it done? The student begins by drawing a line down the middle of his notebook paper, thereby making two columns. The left column is used for traditional ,cote forms of direct quotations and citations or summaries. The right columnisuse.; for commenting on the left-column notes. As the student keeps taking notes, he should regularly reread his previous page(s) of notes and comments, drawing any n'w connections ina right-column summary before starting another page of note- taking/note-making.

Why is it important? In the right-hand column the student "owns" the new facts by putting them in his own words or by raising his own questions.

Give an example. Here is a part of one student's journal on Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily."

141 148 STUDENT MODEL Using William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily"** (Please note that this student attempted thisprocess only one other time.Yet, as you will notice, sheis able to get deep engagement with the story's setting, characters, and point of view during her first reading. She had lot time toeven read the story first for pleasure--non-critically--as always recommended.)

Note-taking Note-making (Student selected quctes from assigned (Student responses to selected quotes) reading)

1. "When Miss Emily died,the men 1.You can tell a lot about how the went throughasortof respectful town felt about Emily by this one affection for a fallen monument... sentence -- the women mostly out of curiosity to themen"affectionforafallen see the inside of her house" (p. 24, monument".You don't feel anything para. 1) personalforamonument,maybe respect, pride, etc., but no personal feelings.Maybe this means the men never got close. They never knew her, so they pay their respects as if for an object faraway. the women--Another story.Did they even like her? To see her house? Are theyabunchof snobbystuckup women? 2. "And now Miss Emily had gone--2. Sothat'swhenthestorytakes amongtheranked and anonymous place. Whoa! gravesofUnionandConfederate soldiers whofell atthebattle of Jefferson" (p. 24, para. 2) 3."Miss Emily had been a tradition, a 3.tradition--Was she respected? duty, a care,asort of hereditary a duty--Why? obligation upon the town" (p. 25, a care--Meaning people loved her? para. 1) obligation--Why? Maybe thetown didn't quite love her after all. 4."...small, fat woman in black... 4.Ugh! Not at all like the woman I she looked bloated.. .that pallid hue. imagined. I thoughthertobe Her eyes looked like small pieces of beautiful,graceful,feminine - -not a dough" (p. 25, para. 4) deadly ghost. She must have died inside a long time ago.

** From: Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama, X. J. Kennedy, ed., 3rd edition (Boston: Little Brown, 1983),on. 24-31.

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143 CHAPTER 7

ASSESSMENT:

STUDENT PROGRESS

IN UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE

in which we make less depressing the need to act as judge and jury to our innocent charges and see a thorough process for helping them think and write about literature; we examine a test we can teach to.

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150 '-) CALIFORNIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Bill Honig 721 Capitol Mall Superintendent Sacramento, CA 95814-4785 of Public Instruction

December 2, 1985

Dear Teacher Colleagues: We wish to commend the ideas inthis sourcebook pertaining to assessment in English/Language Arts. The approaches included in this document are creative and constructive in that they reveal a positive view of English/Language Arts instruction; they deal with whole pieces of language; and they emphasize the central role of meaning.

The staff of the California Assessment Program and many other contributorsare working toward a writing assessment that will directly reflect the Model Curriculum Standards in the English/Language Arts. We hope that the new CAP assessment will reflect and encourage the best instructional practices, such as those contained within this document, and that it will encourage the teaching of many different kinds of writing and thinking in all content areas.We intend that this assessment will reinforce high expectations of achievement contained within the Model Curriculum Standards and at the same time show teachers what must be done to help stadents achieve those standards. We would like to encourage your work in good assessment techniques and hope that you will advise us in our efforts to create a fair and humane assessment in English/Language Arts for California. Sincerely,

Dale Carlson, Director Beth Breneman, Consultant California Assessment Program California Assessment Program (916) 322-2200

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151 Chapter 7

ASSESSMENT:

STUDENT PROGRESS

IN UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE

Our dignity is not in what we do, but what we understand. --George Santayana

Assessment is often the albatross of language arts teachers--the burdensome exam at the end of the unit, the depressing grad, at the end of the quarter. Truly effective assessment, though, is more process than end product. As such, it can be a strong vehicle for student learning as well as an act of evaluating. At the core of effective assessment is recognizing the student's critical role in the process. Though parents, the community, and the university are interested in the "grade" students receive at the end of a term, within the MCS literature classroom a grade at the end of a semester is not enough. To measure the stud -nt's engagement, appreciation, and comprehension of a literary piece often requil as self and peer assessment along with teacher assessment.Evaluation, then, has as its priority student discovery as they make what they read a part of themselves. Though we cannot dismiss grades or teacher accountability, we can encourage ongoing student self-assessment. Model Curriculum Standard 11%5 addresses the question of assessment:

"Assessment methods and tools should be aligned with the new emphasis(1)on substance,(2)ontheintegration of writing, comprehension, and speaking, and (3) on contextual acquisition of vocabulary and technical skills."

145 The method a teacher uses for assessing student progress reflects what is valued in the classroom. If quickly scored short-answer formats are used e,:clusively, the student learns to value rote memory and superficial observations.If, on the other hand, the teacher has nourished meaning-based responses to literature, the students learn that developing and supporting their points of view about a work are valued. Before students can be effectively assessed, they must be given the chance to become good at acquiring a meaning-based understanding of literature.

How to begin: Activities and Questions for Teachers to Consider

1. Choosing Reading Materials

TheModel CurriculumStandards offeralistof core,extended,and recreational works that challenge and engage students.A work selected for classroom use should lend itself to the development of reading, speaking, thinking, listening, and writing abilities, requiring all students to go beyond their initial opinions and to dig deeply into the meaning of a work.

2.Problem-solving Students need instruction in textual analysis in order to find evidence for their own judgments.Systematic instruction needs to be given in such tasks as close reading of a passage, understanding opening _hapters of a difficult novel,or interpreting lines in a poem.The Writers' Workshop section of this chapter shows one method of in-depth analysis.

3. Reading Logs Students should be given frequent opportunities to write lengthy responses to literature and to connect literature to personal experience, not just short-answer worksheets and study questions. Reading logs are one vehicle for students touse to express personal responses and analyze ideas, events, or charac ters.The emphasis hereis on student discovery. The teacher can respond orallytoideas being formulated by students.Because the reading log requires frequent, unpolished writing, students receive credit simply for completing the entries. 146 4. Discussions

Students should be encouraged to state and explain their opinions. Smallgroup discussions and read-arounds of writings basedon the literature can provide opportunities for students to state and defend interpretations and opinions.

How Do We Assess?

"How do I know if my students have both grasped the substance ofa work and personally related it to their worlds?What criteria do I use to determine these understandings?" These are crucial questions teachers have about assessing meaning- based teaching.

Some possible criteria might include

o use of evidence:Is the evidence the student uses to support main ideas related to the content and taken directly from the text? Do they offer several examples?

o elaboration of support:Does the student provide commentary to develop the idea or does he expect it merely to standon its own? o depth of insight: Does the student go beyond the immediate response the majority of readers would probably give? o integration of formal concerns with meanings: Can the student usethetechnical vocabulary of literature (characterfoil, symbols, and style, for example) to get at a work's meaning?

What Do We Assess?

The ultimate goal of assessment in a literature class is to determine the extent to which our students have grasped in a work of literature, the significanthuman issues, the conflicts, and the insights into themselves and others.While formal concerns such as meter in poetry or plot structure in a work of fiction are important, their primary value is as a tool to understanding the meaning of literature.What 147 15 good is knowing if a student can define plot and conflict if he cannot understand how the plot and conflict of a selection work as part of a whole, allowing the reader to shape personal meaning from it?Thus, instead of focusing on formalistic elements of literature, teachers will want to assess a student's comprehension of what he has read. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has devised types of assessment tasks that assist a teacher in determining whether a student has truly grasped meaning:

o general responding tasks These tasks have students (1) discuss a passage or a poem or (2) describe their thoughts or feelings about the text.The students are able to choose their response from a variety of perspectives and their response is dependent on an understanding of the text. An example of a general responding task for assessment would be to have the student summarize or retell a story excerpt or poem in his own words. Sample directions might say: "Write a composition in which you paraphrase Emily Dickinson's poem, heard a fly buzz when I died.'I am more interested in what you have to say than in how you say it." This type of assessment reveals the reader's experiences with literature, the kinds of discussions and writing assignments the student has previously experienced, and the student's thinking strategies.

o inferencing tasks Students are asked (1) to describe the intent of the author, (2) to describe the mood of the passage, or (3) to describe the character of the protagonist.Interpretation of the passage and explanation of the interpretation are required; the student must relate his interpretation to the text. Sample directions for a task of this type might bet"Read the poem 'Song Form' by Leroi Jones (Imamu Amiri Baraka).Then write an essay about an important idea or theme of the poem.;in your essay tell how such things as the images, events, sound, and structure contribute to this idea or theme." Such a task demonstrates a student's ability to employ systematic proceduresforapproachingatext,includinginferringthe development of a poem's meaning, stanza by citanza, discussing a list of character traits, or tracing an image from the beginning of a piece to the end.

148 o emotional responding tasks

Inthis type of assessment students are asked to describe the emotions or feelings he experiences as he encounters a work of literature. A sample assessment task might state, "Tell me how you felt at the end of Erskine Caldwell's 'Warm River.' Were you pleased that it was a happy ending? Did you identify with the narrator? How?" Generally, assessment of this type is effectively used in Reading Log responses.

o analytic responding tasks Students are asked to analyze a passage or poem in this type of assessment. A successful responseis one that goes beyond a superficial interpretation and provides a meaning or theme for the text.The questions students ask here are as important as their answers.

An example of an analytic task might be:"Discuss the author's intention in'TheAct' by William Carlos Williams."Students systematically focus their questions (often "why" questions) on a key element of the text.

o evaluative responding tasks

Students are asked toevaluate particular poems, stories,or excerpts from novels,presenting theircriteria and offering textual support in their evaluation. An example of this assessment task is "What makes a good poem? What inthis poem, 'Springislike a perhaps hand' by e.e. cummings, leads to your judgment?"Students must be able to analyze and to consider the evaluative criteria they are using. They often understand the nature of poetry better as they struggle with elaborating their judgments of a particular poem.

What we assess, then,is the students' ability to absorb and appreciate the literaturetheystudy--closereading,paraphrasing,explaining,elaborating. Assessment is designed to teach; thus the instructor's purpose is not simply to arrive at a grade but to evaluate where students are in their ability to use language and to understand and appreciate the literature.

149 1 p 1 3 The rest of this chapter will detail

I. Assessment emphasizing process: from Assignment to Assessment

II. Assessment emphasizing product A. Designing good essay questions B. Writing University Entrance Examinations.

I. PROCESS EMPHASIS

ASSIGNMENT TO ASSESSMEi :T: A WRITING-BASED APPROACH The shape our evaluation takes is molded by what we teach. For the MCS goals of meaning-centered learning, evaluation in the shape of major writing assignments and essay questions seems tailor-made.Writing is the specific instrument for analyzing, synthesizing, interpreting and articulating insights. As all teachers know, writing leads students to make connections: the connections that the MCS strive for between what is read and the student's understanding of himself and the human condition. Yet there are disadvantages to written assessment:

1.Our many students inexperienced with writing are likely to write unreadable, mind-bending papersvacuousincontent,garbled and meanderingin organization, and full of errors of every type.Without some intervention, students will become frustrated with the complexity of writing and with their failures.

2.Their teachers will be equally discouraged when faced with papers whose plethora of problems make them wonder where to begin.Grading such papers is an impossible drain on teacher energy and sanity. Fortunately there are effective ways of avoiding this sad scenario. By using the Writers' Workshop method and designing effective essay questions you will be able to o make written assessment a successful experience for the student;

o maketheevaluation of student papers a manageable and satisfying experience for the teacher;

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V.0 J o turn the testing into a learning situation wherein the writing assignment synthesizes and makes permanent all the learning that led up to it. Classroom activities preceding this Writers' Workshop are in Appendix C.

THE WRITERS' WORKSHOP

This form of Writers' Workshop for Literary Studies is a concept developed by Charles Cooper.His approach recognizes that every stage of the writing process needs attention.Writing seems less complex when students receive guidance with problems each stage.Specifically, they receive help from the prewriting stage (generatingdeas, accumulating specifics, seeing patterns and finding a direction among the specifics,refiningtheirtheses)to the editing stage (checking for correctness and polishing their word choices). The Writers' Workshop practically guarantees students success:they are able to write in drafts rather than hand in a one-shot, do-or-die paper.From reader response, they reseive definite suggestions leading them to re-think and revise their papers. They are able to focus on one thing at a time, e.g., to articulate their ideas completely before worrying about correctness, style, diction. Teachers, too, benefit from this approach as it almost guarantees a manageable grading experience. By the time the final draft reaches them, its shape is :uch that they can focus on one or two of its features.In the meantime, in preparing the activities and c .delines taking the students through theprocess, teachers are intensively teaching writing. The students in solving problems in theirown drafts are actively learning how to write.

Rationale for This Method

o Students areforced torefl.:et,tothink, and to organize even before beginning their drafts. o They have a clear idea of what evidence means, of how to use literature as a source for writing. They avoid generalization and unsupported assc+ions. o They learn to work together and to become involved in each other's writing.

151 No wonaer the approach produces these positive student responses:

The writer's workshop is the best thing we've done in learning how to write. You'll let us use this method each time we write a paper, won't you? --Student Testimonials

Just how the method works can be seen inthe following sequence of assignments, using Cooper's step-by-step approach to teaching Ionesco's play The Rhinoceros.The student samples are from senior college-preparatory students at Mira Costa High School.

Using time wisely: This kind of intensive, in-depth work deserves a worthy text (novel, play, story, poem) and an assignment that leads to a significant discovery. Because this approach requires much student and teacher preparation and reflection--and time is short--use it with your most important works and center the assignment on the key issue, interpretation, value or character analysis you want to teach. Vary your application of this method to the level of your students and the difficulty of the text.The suggested time allotments represent a thorough in-class treatment of important literature for relatively inexperienced readers.

The Writing Task Write an essay in which you interpret a character's behavior in a work of literature.Support your interpretation with reasons and evidence from the work. Your purpose is to persuade your readers that your interpretation is reasonable and insightfuL

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15 i.) PREWRITING TASK A:

IDENTIFYING AN INTERPRETIVE METHOD

One method to interpret a character's behavior is to identify the personality traits which make the character believe as he does. Another is to identify growth or change in the character's attitude, ideas, feelings, or beliefs.The following steps provide ways to organize essays about characters.

1. Listing (10 Minutes) Before you begin listing, quickly review the play. Then list everything you can think of about Berenger. Divide a page into two columns.In the left-hand column, list an important character's personality traits, the qualities you notice about him (in Rhinoceros, the character is Berenger) as you read. Label this first column "Traits." In the right-hand column list all the ways this character grew or changed in the course of the story.Maybe his feelings or ideas changed in the course of the story. Maybe he realized something he had not seen before.Maybe he made an important decision. Label this second column "Changes."

2. Choosing (5 Minutes) When you finish listing, carefully review both lists.Then, put an asterisk (*) next to the three or four personality traits you think best illustrate Berenger. Also put an asterisk next to the three or four changes which you believe are most important to the outcome of the play.

Here is a student sample illustrating steps one and two:

Berenger's How He Grew Personality Traits cr Changed

*Apathetic * Radical change--becomes the most concerned Drunkard Becomes conscious of his drinking--exerts control Dishevelled Remains so, but is less conscious of it

153 16 0 * Friendly Remains so, but becomes more paranoid Non-argumentative Becomes more confident, ready to defend himself Tolerant Not tolerant of the Rhinos Self-Deprecating No longer so deprecating * Demurring * Complete change -- defends his opinions * "Goes with the flow" * Takes a stand

3. Quickwriting (10 Minutes)

What to tell your students: Quickwriting is a special kind of writing that lets you use the action of writing itself to discover what you already know.It works only if you write without planning and without looking back at what you have already written. Writenon- stop, breathlessly, recklessly.Write as fast as you can.Write so fast your fingers feel tired.Write down anything you can think of.If you reach a point where you can't think of anything, write down your last word over and over. Just don't let your pencil stop moving.Write down as many words as you possibly can. Don't worry about spelling, punctuation, or grammar.You may want to use complete sentences, but you don't have to.Sometimes words and phrases are best. First, read carefully the two lists you have just finished writing. Choose which one of these methods you are most interestc using as the basis for your essay.Then under this heading, circle the two items you believeare most important for the reader to understand about the character's traits or changes. You will do five-minute quickwrites on these two items. As you write,you may think of many things to say about the character other than thosl you have on your list.These quickwrites will also help you define the limits of your essay. The teacher will time you. As you quickwrite, consider these questions: a.If you are writing on traits:

What makes this character especially memorable?unique?How is he different from the other characters in the story?How do his traits

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164 contribute to the major event(s) 'n the story? How does this character give you insight into real-life people?

b.If you are writing on growth or change: What is the cause of the character's raajur change? Why is this change important in the story?What does his or hee motives for changing tell you about real-life motivations?

Here is the way a student quickwrote items from the list.It's all right that he started in the midst of his topic -he's writing for himself here, not for an audience.

Student Example This is the cause--realizing his shortcomings and who he is because one has to begin with oneself before any changes take place before one can help another. One cannot be strong if one does not realize his or her shortcomings. Berenger is at first drinking all the time.He wants to be like the other character, like the logician because he feels they have the answers but even Jean is no friend to Berenger because Jean is caught up with conforming and obsessed at doing what society feels he should do.Even Daisy becomes a disappointment.But Berenger realizes their faults as he realizes himself and how he must be satisfied with who he is, with who he is, with who he is--and as he realizes that he has faults, the rest of the town is turning into rhinos.They are running away from themselves. He realizes he must not run away.In this he also realizes a responsibilty to mankind and to save it by asking Daisy if she'll help save mankind with him by having children and starting a new generation.

4.Reflection (5 Minutes) Read over everything you have written up to this point.Then consider these questions: a.Which interpretive method-- discussion of traits or changes--is the best for writing about this character? b. Which method am I most interested in?

155 1 62 PREWRITING TASK 13:

CONSTRUCTING A THESIS STATEMENT

When you are sure which interpretive method you will use, this is the one around which you will build a thesis statement. A thesis statement is composed of one or several sentences which define the topic you will write about in relation to the major character's behavior.It keys your readers into what they may expect as the subject of your essay.It is the main Maim you are making about the character's behavior and/or motivation.

A claim,orthesis statement,isyour answerto a question about the character.Sometimes, in constructing a strong thesis statement, we must go backwards from the answer to the question.In an interpretive essay, often this question begin with the words "Why?" or "How?" The answer will usually contain the word "because."

Reviewing Listing (20-30 Minutes) 1. There are two things you need to do now to get ready for this crucial next step:re-read the story and ee-read your quickwrites.As you re-read the story and your quickwrites, make a list of all the questions that occur to you about the character. These will be "why" or "how" questions. Make ''st as long as you can. Label this 1,3t "Questions."

2.Put an asterisk next to the question you will try to answer in your thesis state ment.

3.Next, try to write a thesis statement which answers this question.Your thesis statement must contain the main claim you are making in your interpretation. For this interpretive essay, your thesis statement must contain the word "be_ause." (Note that you may wish to phrase your thesis statement another way later, without a "because," but it is a useful way to think about your interpretive thesis statement.) Label this section "Thesis Statement." You may ha7e to make several attempts before you find a clear and concise thesis statement, so don't worry if the first version does not satisfy you.

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1 C) Student Example

Questions:

1.Is Berenger strong throughout the play or does he change from weak to strong?

2.What is Berenger's moral change? Where do his morals come from?

3.Where does his goodness come from? 4. At what point does he change, or is his change gradual?

5.Is Berenger genuinely apathetic at the beginning?Why does Berenger not respond to the first rhino?

6.If the change into rhinos was only physical, would Berenger have changed into one?

Thesis Statement

Version #1 Berenger develops a strong moral sense from seeing the changes in his friend Jean, and then seeing the same changes in others around him. Version #2 Though apathetic in the beginning, Berengt.r becomes morally concerned when he sees the progress of the rhino epidemic. Version #3 Berenger's untested morality is challenged when heis confronted with the changes in those around him, and he emerges into a character with a strong moral sense.

PREWRITING TASK C:

IDENTIFYING REASONS AND EVIDENCE

1. On a new sheet of paper, first write your thesis statement. 2. Locate the reasons which support the claim you are making.

157 Listing (20 Minutes) 3.Now, divide the page 'at° two columns. (The left-hand column should be the width of about 1/3 of the page.)At the top of this column, write "Reasons." Under this heading, list the reasons that come after the word "because" in your thesis statement.Also list any other reasons you think now you might use to support your thesis. Skip about five lines between each reason. 4. Once you have listed these reasons, you will !toed to review the story carefully to see what evidence you can find which supports them. At the top of the right- hand column, write the word "Evidence."Under this heading, list as much evidence as you can for each reason you have stated. Your evidence may be in the form of paraphrases, direct quotes, or descriptive details. You should have at least three or four pieces of evidence to support each reason.

Student Example Identifying Reasons and Evidence

Thesis: Berenger's untested morality is challenged when he is confronted with the changes in those around him, and he emerges into a character with a strong moral sense.

Reasons Evidence Berenger lacks strong p. 7. "I get so bored .. . I moral concern in the just can't get used to life." beginning--is apathetic and self-deprecating. p. 12. Responds to Jean's concern about the rhino by saying "Nothing. It made a lot of dust." p. 13. "It's dangerous. I hadn't realized. But don't worry about it, it won't get ns here." p. 20. He even responds to his biggest concern, Daisy, by saying "I've no future, no qualifications, I don't stand a chance."

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165 Reasons Evidence Berenger starts to change pp. 30-31. He gets upset at Jean's when he sees others' argumentation about the horns. concerns about the rhinos. pp. 44-46. In the office, he adopts the others' concerns about the number of horns, but he is still apathetic. p. 53. More concerned with his stomach than with Boeuf's change: "I'm hungry." When Jean becomes a rhino, p. 63. Becomes hurt by Jean's manner Berenger changes and comment about friendship. p. 64. "I feel you're passing through a moral crisis." p. 67. Shows concern for morality: "We have our own moral standards which I consider imcompatible with the standards of these animals." p. 67. "philosophy" Visited by Dudard, he p. 76. "But if one doesn't want to recognizes personal catch the thing... then you morality and responsi- simply don't catch it." bility. p. 78. "I feel responsible ... I can't be indifferent." p. 79. "When you're involved yourself, you can't help feeling directly concerned." p. 83. Reacts to Papillion: "It was his duty not to succumb." p. 89. To Botard's change: "Good men make good rhinos." p. 93. "Your duty is to oppose them, wit.. a firm clear mind."

159 16G Mi PREWRITING TASK D:

DISCOVERING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FHESIS, REASONS, AND EVIDENCE

Your next job will be to consolidate the information you have written down in the table--to look at it and see how the different items in the table relate to each other and to your thesis statement.

Quickwriting (5 Minutes)

1. Do a five-minute quickwrite on your table of reasons and evidence, noting any relationships between reasons or connections between evidence and reasons. The object of this is to make the items on ycur table work._ward a single goal:to make your thesis statement convincing.This quickwrite can help you when you come to think about a Possible sequence for the reasons, and consider these questions:

oHow well does the evidence support each reason?

o Can any pieces of evidence be combined?

o What further evidence might I need to support each reason?

Student Sample

#2 Quickwrite The tableof reasons seems in good order--but shows Berenger's moral development as a result of his contacts with others, especially Jean.The fourth reason needs to be more specific--perhaps: "Berenger recognizes the importance of taking a moral stand during his visit with Dudard, and during Dudard's change." More evidence is needed here, because I haven't yet shown how Bereng:r responds to Dudard's change.Finally, I haven't shown Berenger's final change--when Daisy joins the rhinos--he is then alone, and the final comment one can make about him is that he cannot change--he recognizes that he k; different, and has a moral code that must be maintained, even in the face of the entire society's change.

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16.,i Planning Your Draft

Before the next class meeting, read over carefully everythingyou have written.

A director must make decisions about a movie he is shooting; similarly,there are a number of decisions you will have to make as you plan the design ofyour interpretation.The questions below will remind you of these decisions; so,as you read your notes, think about how you would answer them. Youmay want to make additions or changes to your notes. o Hov will I begin?Should I leave my thesis until the end of my opening paragraph and begin with a quotation or a description ofa detail? o How much evidence should I use?How can I strike a balance between confusing my readers with insufficient information and boring them by giving too much?

o How can I arrange my reasons and evidence in a logical sequence which will be easy for my readers. to understand?

After you have reviewed all of your notes in order to think aboutthese questions regarding design, you will be ready to write the draft ofyour essay.

Drafting

You now have in your notes detailed information on the interpretationyou are arguing for, including reasons and evidence supporting eachreason. You also have an idea of how you might arrange and present your argument.

Before' you begin drafting, quickly read oncemore through everything you've written for the prewriting tasks. This material will bea rich source c` information, details, and insights to use in your draft.Use your prewriting to guide you as you draft.But remember that it is only a working guide.Writers often make major discoveries and reorganizations when they draft. Somenew ideas may form in your mind while you're drafting. Note: Don't forget to g: re your esspy a title.

161 The Writing Task Here is the writing task for your first draft: Write an essay in which you interpret a character's behavior.Support your interpretation with reasons and evidence from the work. Your purpose is to persuade your readers that your interpretation is reasonable and insightful.

Rough Draft

Berenger's Change * Often in literature, authors show characters who make changes. In particular, Tharacters often make moral changes when they become involved with the outside world. InIonesco's absurdist play, Rhinoceros, the main character, Berenger, develops astrong moral sense when his untested moralityischallenged by confrontation with the changes of those around him. In the first act, Berenger is an easy going, somewhat apathetic drunkard, with few worries in world.When a Rhinoceros runs through the village, Berenger is unconcerned, relative to his friend Jean and the other characters. When Jean asks Berenger's opinion about the strange event, Berenger responds, "Nothing.It raised a lot of dust."Berenger'lack of concern in life extends even to his one visible interest--gaining the attentions of his beautiful co-worker Daisy: "Pve no future, no qualifications.I don't stand a chance." Berenger begins to lose his apathy when he sees how much others are concerned about the Rhinos. He is roused from his quietude when, after another Rhino appears, Jean launches into a silly argument about the number of horns on the Rhinos, and whether the rhinos are African or Asiatic.He quarrels, causing Jean to leave. Later, in the office of his workplace. Berenger demonstrates curiousity about the Rhinos, but little else.He, now, has adopted the concern about the number of horns. However, he has limited concerns for even when Boeuf, a co-worker, changes into a Rhino and charges into the ofice, Berenger is more worried about his stomach than with Boeuf's change. "Pm hungry," he says.

* No corrections have been made in studeit papers. 162 1 69 Berenger's most significant change occurs when Jeanoecumes a Rhino. Berenger visits Jean to apologize for his argumentation the previous day,and is taken aback by Jean's increasing rudeness during thescene. The depth of Berenger's feelings is first shown when Jean, turning green and growinga horn, says, "There is no such thing as friendship." Berenger replies "That's a hurtful thing to say." When Jean declares his misanthropy, Berenger's concern for Jean's physical healthchanges to a concern for Jean's attitude:"I feel you're passing through a moral crisis." Berenger then expresses his feeling about The Rhinos:"We have our own moral standards which I consider incompatible with the standards of these animals."He is thus shocked into taking a moral stance when Jean becomesa beast.

Berenger's opinions and moral sense are developed when his co-worker,Dudard, visits. Dudard expresses a lack of concern for The Rhinosvery similar to Berenger's lack of concern in the beginning. Now, though, Berenger counters this indifference by suggesting that ..."if one...doesn't want to catch this thing, ...Thenyou simply don't catch it!" When Dudard tells Berenger that he is overreactingand has no sense of humor in regard to the Rhinos, Berenger makes his clearestmoral statement yet: "I feel responsible for everthing that happens.I feet involved.I can't just be indifferent." That his moral development hascome about through his confrontation with The Rhinos is evident when he says, "When you're involved yourself,when you suddenly find yourself up against the brutal facts, you can't help feelingdirectly concerned." When he learns that other co-workers have become Rhinos,he says to Dudard, one's duty is to oppose them, with a firm clear mind."

Thus :n Rhinoceros Berenger represents and embodies the growth ofmcral consciousness.1.7e becomes the strongest character in the play, anda meral voice against conformity and inhumanity. Even though he'sa drunkard, he changes into a moral person.

163 1 70 READER-WRITER WORKSHOP: PEER REVIEW

THE STEPS WHICH FOLLOW ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT AND MUST BE COMPLETED IN EXACTLY THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR. Do not give yes or no answers--these are of little help in improving someone else's writing. Answer the questions as honestly, completely, and as clearly as you can, and follow the instructions exactly as they are written here.Write the kind of helpful response you would like to receive. Use a fresh sheet of paper and put the following heading at the top: "Reader-Writer Workshop." Put both your name and the writer's name on the top right-hand corner of the page.Do this for each page you use.At the end of the workshop give your responses to your partner so that he or she can use them in writing :he revision. For each of your responses, use the numbers listed here.

A.GENERAL RESPONSE

READ OVER YOUR PARTNER'S PAPER QUICKLY.

1. Summarize in a few sentences of honest comment what you feel about the essay as a whole.

2. Tell the writer if his or her essay is readable and convincing.

3. Tell the writer how he or she hasrovided insight into the character's behavior.

B. ANALYZE THE MAIN WRITING FEATURES OF AN INTERPRETIVE ESSAY ON CHARACTER Ncw you will write a detailed, step-by-step description and analysis of the main features of your partner's draft.'111-.s analysis will not only help the writer revise the draft, but it will teach you a great deal about your own writing. Read your partner's draft for the second time and write your res[...mses to the following requests. Refer to specific page numbers, paragrap;is. and lines when you need to point out a particular place in the writer's draft, and number your responses.

1. Paraphrase the thesis. Isit a discussion of traits or changes?Is its placement correct?

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171 2. Is the first paragraph clear AND engaging or does it sound uncertain? Explain. 3. List the reasons (A,B,C,D) given in the proof and check tosee if they relate to the thesis. Demonstrate that the evidence (1,2,3) illustrates each reason. Does the student have as proof from text some direct quotations?

ReaderWriter Workshop

REASON: A.

ILLUSTRATIONS: 1.

DIRECT QUOTATIONS?: YES NO

4.Is there too much summary or too little analysis?Explain and make suggestions. 5. Identify the transition sentences. Mark them with a "T" in the margin.

165 1 72 C. ANALYZE THE WORD CHOICE AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE

READ THE ESSAY THROUGH ONCE AGAIN AND DO ALL OiTHE FOLLOWING TASKS AS YOU READ. 1. Draw a straight line under any words or images that seem to you especially effective:strong verbs, a memorable phrase, a striking image.Draw a mx, line under any words or images that seem to you flat, stale, vague.

2.Also put a waaline under any words or images that seem unnecessary or repetitious. 3. Look for pairs or groups of sentences that you think should br :ombined into one sentence. Put brackets [Daround these sentences.

4. Look for sentent es that are garbled, overloaded or awkward.Put parentheses ( ) around these sentences.Use parentheses around any sentence which seems even slightly questionable to you.You don't have to be "right." The writer needs to know that you, as one reader, had even the slightest hesitation about understanding a sentence.

REVISING: (INSTRUCTIONS TO THE WRITER OF THE PAPER)

THE FINAL DECISIONS ARE THE WRITER'S. BUT DO CONSIDER THE RESPONSES VERY CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT IS MOST IMPORTANT TO KNOW HOW READERS RESPOND TO YOUR WRITING. For revising it's very helpful if you can reconsider your draft in some mode other than the visual. We strongly recommend two things: 1. Read the draft aloud to yourself. 2. Have someone read it aloud to you.

SAMPLE READER'S RESPONSE TO SAMPLE ROUGH DRAFT

Reader-Writer Workshop

A. Very clear, direct expression of the main points in Berenger's change. Support could be stronger.You also need to round out and identify characters.

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1 73 Reads like a rough draft--sketchy with not enough development.You've successfully shown that Berenger remained strong, butyou need to show more clearly how he does this

B. 1.Thesis statement--Berenger is a strong, good character because he recognizes the value of morality and humanity.

2.Good placement of thesis.

3.Reasons a. Berenger is irresponsible at first, even though he is an individual Good reason Evidence is good--good quotations b. Berenger sees Jean's change. Reason needs to be more related to thesis- Evidence could be stronger--emphasize Berenger's change c. Berenger realizes his responsibility. Weak reason--what causes this realization? Evidence is very weak--you need quotations Identify Dudard and Daisy.

C. Other:

1.Introduction--Good engaging first sentence- -second sentence should be more specifically related to the issues in the play. 2.Conclusion--incomplete

EDITING

This is the time to proofread your work and correct any spelling, punctuation. or grammatical ro rs . Your revision is the finished product; the way you present your paper says a lot about you as a writer and about your concern for the realer. A paper filled with errors is difficult to read, and all of your wonderful ideas and hard work may be lost in the confusion.

167 The teacher may ask you to exchange revisions with a partner so that you can proofread and edit each other's work, or you may be asked to proofread and edit your own.In either case, the editing and proofreading guide below will help you to polish and refine your essay.

Editing and Proofreading Guide Read the paper and do the following editorial tasks.Use pencil only--so that other readers or the teacher can change your editorial decisions, if they seem questionable.

L. Circle CD any spelling mistakes.

2. Circle C-"")any usage, mistakes. Usage includes agreement cf subjects with verbs, agreement of pronouns with their antecedents, correct verb forms and consistency of verb tense, and correct word choice.

3. Cross out with an X any msecessary punctuation.

4. Insert any needed punctuation. CircleCD the new punctuation.

5. Put a line through (4i-ne-thr-ough) any unnecessary words.

6. Put a parentheses ()around awkward phrases or sentences that are difficult for you to understand on first reading.The phrase or sentence may be awkward, stilted, unbalanced, or puzzling for any reason at all

REVISION OF STUDENT'S SAMPLE ROUGH DRAFT

The development of a moral consciousness is often accelerated by sudden involvement with the world outside one's individual concerns.Simply stated, one often realizes one's own values through confrontation with others.In Eugene Ionesco's absurd play, Rhinoceros, the main character, Berenger, develops a strong moral sense when his untested morality is challenged by a confrontation with the changes of those around him. Specifically, his apathy and disinterest change to great moral concern and involvement as his friends, co-workers and fellow villagers transform themselves into insensitive, thick-skinned rhinoceri.

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1 75 In the beginning of the play, Berengeris an easygoing, somewhat apathetic drunkard, with few concerns in the world.He tells his best friend Jean, "I get so bored....I just can't get used to life."When a rhinoceros runs through the village, Berenger, relative to Jean and the other characters, is unconcerned. When Jean asks Berenger what he thinks of the strange event, Berenger responds,"Nothing,It raised a lot of dust."When Jean mentions the inherent danger of allowing a wild beasttorunthroughthestreets,Berengerunenthusiasticallyexpla.as,"It's dangerous.I hadn't realized.But don't worry about it,it won't get us here." Berenger's lack of concern in life extends even to his one visible interest--gaining the attention of his beautiful co-worker, Daisy: "I've no future, no qualifications.I don't stand a chance." Later, when another rhino appears, Berenger's apathy diminishes when he sees how much others are concerned about the rhinos.He is roused from his quietude when Jean launches into a silly argument about the number of horns on the rhinoceri, and whether they are African of Asiatic.Berenger quarrels rather disinterestedly and obstinately, causing Jean to leave. The nexl day, in the office at his workplace, Berenger demonstrates curiosity about the rhinos, but little else.He, now, has adopted the other's concern about the number of horns, but 1113 interest is limited. Even when a co-worker, Boeuf, becomes a rhino and charges into the office, Berenger is more concerned with his stomach than with Boeurs change; "Pm hungry," he states as Boeuf gallops away. Though the first encounters with the rhinos do little to move Berenger, hE changes significantly when Jean becomes a rhino. Berenge? visits Jean to apologize for his argumentativeness of the previous day, andistaken aback by Jean's increasing rudeness during the visit. That Berenger does have deep feelings is shown when Jean says to him, "There's no such thing as friendship."Berenger replies, "That's a hurtful thing to say."As Jean becomes green and leather-skinned, and a horn sprouts from his forehead, he begins to declare his misanthropy.Berenger's concern for his friend's physical health shifts to a concern for Jean's surprising ideas."I feel you're passing through a moral crisis," he tells Jean. And, for the first Berenger expresses concern for morality, and voices an opinion about the rhinoceri: "We have a philosophy that animals don't share, and an irreplaceable set of values, which it has taken centuries of human civilization to build up."Thus, Berenger is shocked into taking a moral stance when confronted with Jean's abrupt change into a beast. 169 I 7C

3. Berenger's opinions and moral sense are further clarified during the visit of his co-worker Dudard, and during Dudard's subsequent change into a rhino.Dudard expresses a lack of concern for the rhinoceri very similar to Berenger's lack of concern in the beginning of the play, but Berenger now counters this indifference by suggesting that "if one...doesn't want to catch this thing,...thenyou simply don't catch it!"When Dudard tells Berenger that he is overreacting and that he hasno sense of humor in regard to the rhinos, Berenger makes his clearest moral statement yet:"I feel responsible for everything that happens.I feel involved.I can't just be indifferent."Through his confrontation with the rhinos, which are stampeding and trumpeting outside, Berenger has realized that "when you're involved yourself, when you suddenly find yourself up against the brutal facts, you can't help feeling directly concerned." And Berenger's sense of what he must do isr,re clear when he learns of his employer, Papillion's transformation. He says,it was his duty not to succumb." Later, when Botard, a staunch skeptic whom Berenger admires, changes into a rhino, Berenger realizes that even "goodmen make good rhinos." Berenger makes his clear moral statement that one's "duty is tooppose them, with a firm, clear mind."

Berenger,inRhinoceros, represents and embodies the growth of moral consciousness.He emerges from his apathy to become not only the strongest character in the play, but also the moral voice that opposes conformity and refuses tosacrificehis humanity to asocietythatdiscouragestruth,dissent, and individuality.Through his growth into a moral character and hiscourageous last line--"Pmnot capitulating!"--Berenger shows that anrone,even an apathetic drunkard, can oppose oppression if he holds onto his capacityto make moral decisions.

170 177 LEARNING FROM YOUR OWN WRITING PROCESS

In this last stage of the a signment you will talk ab Jut your own work. This is quite an important step since it helps you to understand and control your writing. As in the workshop response you wrote for your classmate, try to be as specific as possible.

On a fresh sheet of paper, write the heading Learning from My Own Writing Process and follow these steps:

1. Reread your draft; then reread your revision.

2. Restate your purpose in writing this essay.

3. Describe the specific changes you made from your draft to your revision and how those changes improved your revision.Be as detailed and specific as possible. Again, refer to specific pages, paragraphs, and passages sothat your teacher can easilyfind the parts you are describing.

Learning from My Own Writing Process Assignment

The purpose in writing the essay was to show Penger's development into a strong moral character.Most of the changes I made were in word choice or sentencestructure,with almost no changeintheoverall structureor organization.I strengthened some transitions. The fourth paragraph needed the most work and still does.It doesn't briefly show how Berenger responds to Jeer'.Also, the conclusion is weak--it doesn't state just what I wanted to say.I don't like the introdietion either, but I don't know how Pd change it. The revision is an improvement over the draft.I like my choice of quotations, and the second and third paragraphs seem concise and unified. Introduction and conclusion are the weakest parts of my paper--also, I want to avoid wordiness in the L Jdy. A deeper thesis topic would challenge me more.

171 !L PRODUCT EMPHASIS: ESSAY QUESTIONS

Of course, there are situations in which the end product--the studentessay- rather than the writing process isforemost. Whether for a midterm test, a department final or practice for college placement tests, the essay :2uestion isan important evaluation tool.Here, design of the essay question itself is the key to successful student performance and to manageable grading.

A poorly designed essay question can illustrate how critical design is.The questim below from a set of facetious questions that have made the educational rounds is Exhibit A. The defense rests.

Describe the history of the papacy from its origins to the present day, concentrating especially but not exclusively, on its soeial, political, economic, religious, and philosophical aspects and impact on Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. Be brief, concise and specific.

While we may smile at this exaggerAted question with its impossible task,some real questions aren't very different. They too are so unfocused that students can't say anything substantive in the time provided. Focusing the question gives the student the territory to write in, sets limits to extraneous material, and gets the student writing immediately rather than figuring out the boundaries of the question.

Grading papers written on an unfocused ouestion like "Discuss Moby Dick"can be a time-consuming, headache-producing experience. Such questions sink teachers in a trackless bog and leave them muttering about the quality of student writingand the imminent fall of Western Civilization.

Of the two following versions of this question, the focusedone will surely produce better student perfomance and easier grading.

Unfocused: Compare The Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie.

Focused: Compare The Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerieon three of these points:

oIllusions that Willy and Amanda, characters in the two plays, (and some of their children) h ve; how these illusions affect the play's outcome

172

n oWilly and Ams,naa's ideas about success

oThe relation of parent to child

oInsights that the plays give about the right way of living.

* * *

Including context, grading criteria and guidelines in the essay design really helps inexperienced writers succeed.The time spent designing the question below will be paid back with good student performance and ease in grading.

TWO EXAMPLES OF GOOD ESSAY QUESTIONS

A.I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angeloa. Prenlpt As we grow up, people around us influence us, either for the goodor for the had. For ex&mple, some people build our feeling of self-worth; other people crumble it; some people make us feel secure; other make us feel abandoned. Maya Angelou was influenced by the following people:Momma Henderson, Bailey, Jr., Daddy Dailey, Mr. Freeman, Mrs. Flowers, Louise, and Mother

1. Tell how each person influenced her and show how that influencewas helpful or harmful to Maya. 2. Tell what person, in your opinion, had the most important influence and explain the reasons for your opinion.

Guideline&

Make some prewriting notes or lists on each of the people.In yotir final draft, make #1 one paragraph and #2 another paragraph. Grading Criteria: Your paper will be graded on the following criteria:

oHaving a clear statement on how each person influenced Maya

oHaving examples to back up whether the person's influencewas helpful or harmful

173 130 a

o Making a good choice of the most influential person

o Giving convincing reasons for your choice

o Writing in complete sentences and in standard English

o Using correct spelling and punctuation.

B. For a thematic unit: readings on the theme "Experience with War and Peace." Prompt:

War has been described in literaturein a variety of ways:realistically, romantically, or satirically.War has been treated soberly, poetically, with clinical bloodiness, and with wild funniness arid black humor. 1.Discuss the treatment thLt three of the writers below have used, giving instances from their work and comment on the effectiveness of their depiction.

Writers: Crane, Heller, Hemingway, Owen, Sassoon, Hardy 2. Decide which treatment or authors represent a modern view ofwar, one similar, for instance, to that of M*A*S*H. 3.Describe what your own attitude towards war is or how it has been affected by what you have read.

IMPORTANT WORD MEANINGS

Also important to essay design is the precise use of "directive" words.The general directive "discuss" won't work if the teacher really wants the student to "explain," "define," or "trace."If your aim is making sure students accurately undDrstood the ideas in the poem "Richard Corey," "paraphrase" will get better results then "discuss." The following list of important word meanings can be given to students.

Good answers to essay questions Depend in part uponA clear understanding of the meanings of the important directive words.These are the words like explain, compare, contrast, and justify, which indicate the way in ala. the material is to be presented.Background knowledge of the subject matter is essential.But mere

174 evidence of this knowledge is not enough.If you are asked to compare the British and American secondary school systems, you will get little or no credit if you merely describe them.if you are asked to criticize the present electoral system,you are not answering the question if you merely explain how it operates.A paper is satisfactory only if it answers directly the question that was asked. The words that follow are frt._ 'ently used in essay examination,:

1. SUMMARIZE: Sum up; give the main points briefly. Summarize the ways in which man preserves food. 2. EVALUATE: Give the good points and the bad ones; appraise; give an opinion regarding the value of;talk over the advantages and limitations.Eva ltu ,e the contributions of teaching machines. 3. CONTRAST: Bring out the points of difference.Contrast the novels of Jane Austen and William Makepeace Thackeray. 4. EXPLAIN: Make clear: interpret; make plain;tell "how" to do;tell the meaning of.Explain how man can, at times, trigger a full-scale rainstorm. 5. DESCRIBE: Give an account of;tell about;give a word picture of. Describe the Pyramids of Giza.

6 DEFINE: Give the meaning of a word or concept;place it in the class to which it belongs and set if off from other items in the same class. Define the term, archetype". 7. COM.?ARE: Bring out points of similarity and points of difference. Compare the legislative branches of the state g_arernment and the national government. 8. DISCUSS: Talk ove..;consider from various points of view; present the different side of.Discuss the use of pesticides in controlling oes.

9. CRITICIZE: State your opinion of the correctness or merits of an item or issue;criticism may approve or disapprove.Criticize the increasing use of alk_ohol.

10. JUSTIFY: Show good reasons for;give your evidence;present facts to support your position.Justify the American entry into World War II. 11. TRACE: Follow the course of; follow the trail of; give a description of progress.Trace the development of television in school instruction. 175

1 12. INTERPRET: Make plain;give the meaning of;give your thinking about; translate. Interpret the poetic line, "The sound of a cobweb snapping is the noise of my life." 13. PROVE: Establish the truth of something by giving factual evidence orlogicalreasons. Prove thatinafull-employment economy, a society can get more of one product only b_y_ giving up another product. 14. ILLUSTRATE: Use a word picture, a diagram, a chart, or a concrete example to clarify a point. Illustrate the use of catapults in the amphibious warfare of Alexander.

This list was developed by the UCLA History Department and is reprinted by permission from the Writing Across the Curriculum Guidebook, The Shortest Distance to Learning.

Finally, a well-designed essay question or writing assignment can make the test a learning experience. This is not true of questions that simply re-hash the material and that might just as well belong on a scantron-type test, e.g. "Whatare the three causes of the Civil War?"or"Name three animal images in The Red Badge of Courage."While it is legitimate to test for facts, questions should get beyond the recall of facts and ask students to synthesize separate facts, to see the material in a new way, to make new connections, and thus fulfill the ideals of the MCS. A checklist follows which summarizes important considerations in designing an essay question.(For fuller treatment, see Simmons, Jo An McGuire, ed.,The Shortest Distance to Learning:A Guidebook to Writing Across the Curriculum, available from UCLA's Office of Academic Interinstitutional Programs.)

Choice of Task

1. Does the question test the students' understanding of significantcourse content? 2.Is the question sufficiently focused to allow the student tosay something substantive in the time allowed?

3.Is the question the end point of a sequence of previous writing assignments or other preparation?

176

1 83 4. Does the question allow the student to synthesize his learning, makenew connections, or see. the material in a new way?

Wording

1.Is the task clarified by exal t use oi terms suchas "trace," "compare," "explain," "justify?" 2. Are steps in the writing task spelled out clearly? 3.Is there enoiTh context given so that the student can immediately plan his answer without spending time figuring out the demands of the question? 4.Would it be appropriate or helpful to frame the questionas a simulated professional problem?

Evaluation Criteria 1.Does the student know the relative worth of various questionsor parts of questions so that he can apportion his time well?

2. Does the student know the criteria by which hisanswer will be graded?

The kinds of writing assignments and essay questions discussed in this chapter prepare students for the reading, writing and thinking they will be asked to do inour "information society."They also prepare students to perfo:rn well on college entrance and placement tests.

WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE:

UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS

The universities often use literary passages for part of 'heir entranceexam in English. Both the State Department of Ed.ication and the universitysystem want to devise tests that can legitimately be taught to--ones that call for real thinking and writing abilities.The following is P recent examination used at both the California State University, Northridge, and UCLA campuses. Its scoring focuseson features of the specific reading and writing tasks demanded by theprom

177 1 8 4 The entire exam is composed of two essays, a one-hour essay based on personal experience, and a two-hour essay requiring the student to write an expository or persuasive essay based on mat_rial in a reading passage or two. George Gadda, who directs writing assessment at UCLA, devised this particular exam.Because of spale concerns, we include only one of the three questions students could choose to answer.We also include sample student essays and Dr. Gadda's analysis of the student essays.

Prompt for the English Entrance Exam

Directions: Below you will find two passages, each concerning an approach to self education.After reading the passages, answer the question so as to demonstrate your ability as a writer of exposition or argument.Write an essay of about 500 words. You will have two hours to complete your essay, probably enough time to allow you to write a rough draft, revise it, and copy it over.You may find it useful to mark the passages, jot down .ome notes, or make a brief outline before you write. Be sure to support your analj.>is by discussing specific examples from the passages, striving for as coherent ar_ well-developed an essay as you can produce in a limited time. Before handing in the essay, double -check your grammar, punctuation, and spelling. The topic has rsingle "correct" response, and requires no specialized knowledge. It is designed to give you the opportunity to show that you can dv the kind of writing usually demanded in university papers and exams. Your readers will be interested in how well your essay shows that you can handle academic writing and in whether your command of standard English allows a reader to focus without distraction on your meaning.

PASSAGE ONE

Explanatory Note: Thefirstpassageisadaptedfrom Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. Init, Franklin describes hio love of books and his efforts as an adolescent to educate himself in his free time.Franklin was apprenticed to his brother, a printer; in eighteenth-century Philadelphia there was no public school system, nor were there public libraries.

From the time I was a child I was fond of reading, and the little money that came into my hands I paid out for nooks.Pleased with Pilgrim's Progress, I first bought John Bunyan's other works in separate little volumes.I afteeward sold them to 178 1R5 enable me to buy R. Burton's Historical Collections; theywere small books, and cheap, 40 or 50 in all.I have since often regretted that at a time when I had sucha thirst for knowledge, more proper books did not fellmy way.

After some time a neighboring tradesman, Mr. Matthew Adams, took notice ofme, invited me to his library, and very kindly lentme such books as I chose to read.I then took a fancy to poetry.11,1y brother, a printer, encouraged me to write words for songs about current events, so that he could sell them.Though they were wretched stuff, the first sold wonderfully.This flattered my vanity.My father, however, discouraged me by ridiculing my perforinances, and by tellingme verse- makers were generally beggars. So I escaped being a poet, most probablya very bad one. But because prose writing has been of such great use to me in the course ofmy life, and has been a principal means of my advancement, I shall tellyou how, without instruction, I acquired what little ability I have in that way. I had exchanged with John Collins, another lad in the town, several letters disputing whether it was proper to educate the female sex.My father happened to find my letters and read them.He then talked to me about my manner of writing; he observed that, though I was superior to John in correct spelling and punctuation (which he attributed to my work in the printing house), I fell farshort in elegance of expression, in organization, and in persuasiveness.I saw the justice of his remarks, and afterwards paid more attention to my manner of writing.

About this timeImet with a volume of the Spectator, the London literary magazine.I had never before seen one.I bought it, read it over an( over, and was much delighted with it.I thought the writing excellent, and wished if possible to imitate it.With that view, I took some of the :articles, made short notes of the ideas in each sentence, and put my notes away fora few days.Then, without looking at the book, I tried to complete the articles again by expressing each idea as fully as it had been expressed before, in the best words that occurred tome. Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered some of my faults, and corrected them. Sometimes I also scrambled my notes and, aftersome weeks, tried to return them to the best order before I began to write full sentences.This was to teach me the organization of thoughts. By comparing my work with the original I discoveredmany faults and corrected them; but I sometimes had the pleasure to think that in certain particulars,I had been fortunate enough to improve the organizationor the language.This encouraged me to think that I might in time becomea tolerable

1 RG 6 It. English writer, which I wps extremely ambitious to be.The time I allotted for writing exercises and for reading was at night, or before work began in the morning, or on Sundays.

PASSAGE TWO Explanatory Note:The second passage comes from the autobiography of Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory. In the book, Rodriguez describes his experience as a Mexican- American growing up in the Sacramento of the 1950's. Spanish was his last language. Having begun to learn English and overcome an initial fear of the silence necessary for reading, Rodriguez began a program of reading to make himself "educated."

In the fourth grade I embarked upon a grandiose reading program."Give me the names of important books," I would say to startled teachers. They soon found out that I had in mind "adult books."I ignored their suggestion of anything I suspected was written for children.(Not until Iwas in college, as a result, didIread Huckleberry Finn or Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.)Instead, I read The Scarlet Letter and Franklin's Autobiography.And whatever I read I read for extra credit. Each time I finished a book, I reported the achievement to a teacher and basked in the praise my effort earned. Despite my best efforts, however, there seemed to be more and more books I needed to read.At the library I would literally tremble as I came upon whole shelves of 000ks I hadn't read. So I read and I read and I read: Great Expectations; all the short stories of Kipling; The Babe Ruth Story; the entire first volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (A-ANSTEY); the Iliad; Moby Dick; Gone with the Wind; The Good Earth; Ramona; Forever Amber. The Lives of the Saints; Crime and Punishment; The Pearl. ... Librarians who initially frowned when I checked out the maximum ten books at a time tarted saving books they thought I might like. Teachers would say to the rest of the class,"I only wish the rest of you took reading as seriously as Richard obviously does." What did I see in my books?I had the idea that they were crucial for my academic success, though I couldn't rave said exactly how or why.In the sixth grade I simply concluded that what gave a book its value was some major idea or theme it contained.If that core essence could be mined and memorized, I would become learned like my teachers.I decided to record in a notebook the themes of the books 180 18? that I read. After reading Robinson Crusoe, I wrote that its themewas "the value of learning to live by oneself." When I completed Wuthering Heights, I notedthe danger of "letting emotions get out of control." Re-reading these brief moralisticappraisals usually 1.ft me disheartened.I couldn't believe that they were really thesource of reading's value.But fc . many more years, they constituted the onlymeans I had of describing to myself the educational value of books.

In spite of my earnestness, I found readinga pleasurable activity.I came to enjoy the lonely good company of books. Early on weekday mornings, I'dread in my bed. Pd feel a mysterious comfort then, reading in the dawn quiet--theblue-gray silence interrupted by the occasional churning of the refrigeratormotor a few rooms away or the more distant sounds of a city bus beginning its run. On weekends I'dgo to the public library to read, surrounded by oldmen and women. And there were p'.easures to sustain me after I'd finish my books.Carrylin a volume back to the library, I would be pleased by its weight.Pd run my fingers along the edge of the pages and marvel at my achievement.Around my room, growing stacks of paperback books reenforced my assurance.

I entered high school having read hundreds of books. My habitof reading made me a confident speaker and writer of English. Reading also enabledme to sense something of the shape, the major concerns, of Western thought.(I was able to say something about Dante and Descartes and Engels and James Baldwin inmy high school term papers.)In these various ways, books brought me academicsuccess as I hoped that they would. But I was not a g od reader.Merely bookish, I lacked a point of view when I read.Rather, I read in order to acquire a point of view.I vacuumed books for epigrams, scraps of information, ideas, themes--anything to fillthe hollow within me and make me feel educated.

TOPIC

Compare and contrast Benjamin Franklin's educationalprogram with that of Richard Rodriguez. Among the topics you might considerare the two men's attitudes toward books and the knowledge they contain, their educationalmethods, their educational goals, and the parts played in their programs by the adults aroundthem. Be sure your essay has a thesis that unifies its specific points.

181 188 SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY #1 *

; Books the Source of All Human Kowleege 1 There are many comparisons and contrastions between Benjamin Franklin's educational program with that of Richard Rodriguez.Both men realized the importance of books and the knowledge they contain. The two men had contrasting educational methods. Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rodriguez had many different veiws on their educational goals. Both men agreed on the importance of books and the knowledge they contain. In both passages I read that the two men had a thrist for knowledge, and to read each and every book they could get their hands on.Both men were proud of the many books they have read, but yet they try to seek for more. The attitudes of the two men were described aF, being appreciative to the books for their added knowledge to each mans life. The two men had contrasting educational methods, for each of the two time periods.In Franklin's era he took criticism in the way to perfect something. With the volume Spectator, the London literary magazine, Franklin took notes of the articles.Then he would try to express the article in the best words that occured to him.Rodriguez began a program of reading to make himself "educated."When asked what he saw in books, "I had the idea that they were crucial for my academic success." Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rodriguez had different veiws ontheir educational goals.Franklin argued that it was proper to educate the female sex. Rodriguez's goal was that each book had a theme or a major idea. He also stated, "If that core essence could be mined and memorized, I would become learned like my teachers.I thin'< what will make both mens goals complete is that they have the fondness for reading.

* No corrections of student papers have been made.

182

189 A1111111M....-.41/M

Ibelievethat Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rodriguez have set prime examples for our society of today to use.These men had the opportunity to get books, and worked hard on getting the true value out of them.I believe that the course of all human life is based upon the words of books.In every..ody there is a hollow space within them, and I feel that books, a source of education, is the best way to fill .

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY #2

Franklin's ac Rodriguez's E,'ne.a.ional Program

Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rcdriguez both thought that books and reading were an essential part of a :cessful educational program.Though Franklin and Rodriguez held similar educational goals, their methods of achieving itwere quite dissimilar in some aspects and similar in others.

Franklin believed in the relative value of books while Rodriguez believed in the innate value of books. When Franklin read the Spectator, he enjoyed it and wished to imitate it."Then he compared his Spectator with the original, discoveredsome of his faults, and corrected them." What Franklin was interested in was not the ideals in the Spectator, but the writing style. Rodriquez too thought bookswet e crucial but he thought "what gave a book its value was some major idea it contained." Franklin and Rodriguez both had some of the same educational methods. Franklin took notes of the ideas in each sentence of articles he read.Rodriguez "recorded in a notebook the themes of the books that he read."A diffrreAce in techniques was that Franklin "scrambled his notes, arm: tried to return them to the best order before he began writing.""This was to teed, him the organization of thoughts."Rodriguez on the other hand "read in order to acquire a point of view." "He vacumed books for epigrams, etc, to fill the hollow within him and make him feel educated."

The educational goals were basically the same for both. Both read to beenme educated.

Finally the influence adults around them had the effect of encouraging them to success. Franklin was spurred on by a criticism of his writing by his father and he

183 190 Ir \7 "saw the justice of his father's remarks, and afterwc.ds paid more attention to his manner of writing." Rodriguez was instead encouraged to greater success when he "reported his achievement to a teacher and basked in the praise his effort had earned." Thus Franklin was spurred on by criticism and Rodriguez by praise. The conclusion that can be drawn is that both educational programs rely on being self-taught.However, Franklin's program is based on success thru experience while Rodriguez's is based upon amassing as much information as possible.

SAMPLE STUDENT ESSAY #3

The Importance of a Eesire to Learn Although they lived in different time periods and had completely different lives, both Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rodriguez, held fir:n beliefs about the importance of educ. ion and reading.Both men had specific programs which involved self-education as well as aid from various adults surrounding them.The reasons motivating them to become educated and their methods for doing so, however, were as different as the men themselves. One similarity in the educational programs of these men was that they were both self-educated people who had achieved knowledge because they strove for it. Neither Franklin nor Rodriguez were forced to educate themselves, but they did so as a conscious choice to quench a "thirst for knowledge."In being self-educated people who were basically responsible for their own knowledge, they both had to overcome certain obstacles.During the eighteenth century in Philadelphia there were no public schools or libraries available for Franklin, and Rodriguez faced the challege of learning to cope in a land where Ent,':sh, his second language, was first. Another similarity in the educational programs of Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rodriguez was the role adults played in them. The adults around Franklin and Rodriguez were generally very supportive of the two young boys who were attempting to bec,,me well educated young men. In his book Autobiography, Franklin wrote, "...a neighboring tradesman, Mr. Matthew Adams, took notice of me, invited me to his library, and very kindly lent me such books as I chose to read." Franklin's father also guided him in his education as shown in the following quote:"He (his father) then talked to me about my manner of writing; he observed that, though Iwas 184

1 9 1 superior to John in correct spelling and punctuation...I fell far short in elegance of expression, in organization, and in persuasiveness.I saw the justice of his remarks and afterwards paid more attention to my manner of writing."Rodriguez also received motivating support from adults surrounding him.In his autobiography Hunger of Memory he wrote, "Librarians who initally frowned when I checked out the maximum ten books at a time started saving books they thought I might like. Teachers would say to the rest of the class, 'I only wish the rest of you took reading as seriously as Richard obviously does." Although Franklin and Rodriguez had similar feelings on the importance of education, their means for attaining it were very different.Franklin wished to become a "tolerable" English writer and tried to improve himself in that area by imitating the Spectator, a London literary magazine. He wrote, "With that view, I took some of the articles, made short notes of the ideas in each sentence, and put my notes away for a few days.Then, without looking at the book, I tried to complete the articles again by expressing each idea as fully as it had been expressed before, in thebest words that occurred to me.Then I compared my Spectator with the original, discovered some of the my faults, and corrected them." Rodriguez, on the other hand, felt that acquiring knowledge was crucial for academic success although he had no specific career goal.He said, "and whatever I read I read for extra credit...My habit of reading made me a confident speaker and writer of English. Reading also enabled me to sense somthing of the shape, the major concerns of western thought.In these ways, books brought me the academic success as I hoped they would." Both Benjamin Franklin and Richard Rodriguez were bright, motivated men who achieved educational success because they wanted to do so. Franklin was self- educated without any help from a public educational system and Rodriguez overcame the problems he faced because English was his second languge.Both seemed to be acquiring knowledge to somehow make up a void in their lives.Rodriguez wrote, "I vacuumed books for epigrams, scaps of information, ideas, themes--anything to fill the hollow within me and make me feel educated.... "

185 192 AN ANALYSIS OF TOPIC AND STUDENT ESSAYS This topic should provide an opportunity to talk about the purposes for comparing and contrasting.The papers form a good continuum of increasing skill and interest. Some things to say (or elicit) in discussing the topic itself: o This topic asks students to compare Franklin's and Rodriguez's whole educational programs, not only or even primarily their ideas about reading. o The suggestions in the topic's second sentence are just that, suggestions; students can use them or not.Most will.The stronger among them will probably regroup or rephrase these topics; the weaker will often run through them as if they were a checklist. o As the final sentence states, essays should have an overall thesis about the two educational programs.That thesis may be simply descriptive, or it may be evaluative. In either case, it will preferably be more test-specific than The two programs have both similarities and differences." Note: Remember these essays are judged as the products of one or two hours' work. They should not be judged against the standards used for writingprofessional or student writing--conceived, drafted, and revised at leisure.

Rating Scale

6 Applies to papers that are clearly superior because of their compelling development and mature voice. A 6 paper may not be flawlessly proportioned or even absolutely error-free, but it does all of the following: o engages the topic cogertly and thoughtfully, developing its points with telling details o chooses words aptly, and sometimes with ilair o uses effective sentences, often sophisticated in structure o demonstrates mastery of most of the grammar and usage conventions of standard English.

5 Applies to effective papers. A 5 paper does most or all of the following well: o responds intelligently to the topic, organizing significant details in several coherent paragraphs and providing a sense of orderly progress between and among ideas 186 Ina o chooses words with precision o uses effective sentences o observes the conventions of written English, containing few errors in sentence structure, punctuation and capitalization, or usage.

4 Applies to competent papers.Although these papers communicate clearly, they lack the purposeful development or stylistic command demonstrated by 5 papers. A 4 paper usually o responds adequately to the topic, showing a clear sense of organization and enough coherent development to make its points acceptably o chooses more generalized vocabulary o uses sentences adequate for the development of its ideas o contains minor errors in mechanics and usage, and perhaps one or two more distracting errors in sentence structure (an agreement error, a clearly unintentional fragment, an obviously dangling modifier).

3 Applies to unsatisfactory papers. These papers usually lack the coherence and development of 4 papers and exhibit some significant deficiencies in their writers' ability to handle written English. A typical 3 paper o responds less effectively to the topic, often stating a major idea clearly but developing it inadequately or with questionable logic o chooses vocabulary that is often too general for the intended idea o uses sentences that often miss opportunities for effective subordination and parallelism

o makes enough errorsinusage andin sentence structure--errorsin agreement,pronounreference,sentencepunctuation,andmodifier placement--to cause a reader serious, if occasional, distraction.

2 Applies to papers that show serious weaknesses in many areas. A 2 paper o may distort the topic, and frequently lacks appropriate organization and development with relevant details o often employs very basic vocabulary or misuses many words o usually relies on primer prose or on sentences that coordinate excessively or subordinate illogically o contains many distracting errors in sentence structure, in some cases suggesting an oral rather than a written style.

187 1 Applies to papers that demonstrate severe difficulties with reading and writing standard English. Such papers o may clearly misunderstand the topic's demands o may be brief, suggesting real effort in producing more than half the words requested

o oftenaremarkedlyincoherent,withfewsuccessfullinks between sentences and with much faulty predication within them o usually contain distracting errors of sentence structure, inflection, and idiom in almost every sentence.

The papers

o"Books the Source of All Human Kowledge" is a 3-.Its most striking characteristics are the imprecision of its phrasing and the vacuousness of its thought.(Both characteristics are neatly demonstrated by paragraph 2.) These characteristics are matched by incoherence at higher rhetorical levels.Paragraph 3, for example, begins by suggesting that the two men's educational programs differed because of when they lived, but never explains why their historical periods were important or even discusses Rodriguez's method--it describes his goal instead. See also (in paragraph 4) the statement that substitutes for the promised treatment ofFranklin's goals,and the pious--but irrelevant--conclusion. o"Franklin's and Rodriguez's Educational Program" is a 4(+).It forms a particularly strong contrast with "Books the Source ...," since its single most striking characteristic is its synthesizing intelligence.It suggests a more searching reader than does "Importance of a Desire to Learn" when it makes observations like that about the "relative and innate" value of books at the beginning of paragraph 2.This passage also illustrates some of the essay's limitations, however, since the paragraph doesn't go on to explain "relative" before describing Franklin's procedure.The essay could be developed more fully, and should rely less on quotations.Questions can also be raised about how accurately paragraph 4 compares the men's goals, and whether it doesn't need further elaboration even if those goals are as alike as it claims. o"The Importance of a Desire to Learn" is a 5.It has a synthesizing thesis that groups the topics suggested in the question, though some readers would prefer that thesis to be more specific.Its writing is smooth and precise in phrasing; sometimes it rises to an effective rhetorical flourish, as at the end of paragraph 1.In general, the essay reads the passages accurately and develcps convincingly the similarities and differences it defines.It has two significant weaknesses, though:too much material is quoted from the passages rather than paraphrased, and the conclusion raises a new issue--using knowledge to fill a void---without substantiating its relevance to Franklin. Overall, a worthy but far from perfect paper.

188 I 6 :- L. I,) CHAPTER 8

RESOURCES

wherein are treasures concerning our multicultural heritage our technological realities our media-loving students with special recommendations that teacher and student alike enrich their days and nights with the vision of a widening, deepening world implied herein

189 1 9G IN AN INFORMATION-BASED SOCIETY EDUCATION IS EVERYBODY'S BUSINESS

PARENTS: Read to children Expect them to reach their potential

STUDENTS: Learn actively Be self-starting, self-assessing

TEACHERS: Adapt universal texts to unique individuals

LEGISLATORS: Support schools and libraries as #1 priority

LIBRARIES: Stock books needed by schools

HIGHER EDUCATION: Offer programs to revitalize teachers

SCHOOLS: Prepare a society of life-long learners

1 9 0 1 n7 CHAPTER 8

RESOURCES

The primary resource of the classroom is, of course, the human mind. Socrates taught his pupils with little else than a series of questions and an innocent guile. The one-room schoolhouse--which Bruno Bettelheim calls the best system of education America ever devised--made do with pieces of slate and random books because pupils helped each other. And no amount of dollars or fancy computers can make up for a lack of curiosity, a distaste for learning, or a below-zero heart. But in our crowded classrooms, preparing for an ever-more complex future, we need all the help we can get.We haven't time to read all the books a thousand different students may need, so book summaries will help us guide them to that magic work that may turn them on to reading for a lifetime. A librarian can be our- and their--best friend.

Socrates didnotteachfivehours adayto150-200 hormonally-driven youngsters. he were alive today, he might have welcomed grant money to bring in his contemporaries, Simmias, Euclid, or Cebes to give him a break. Or even turned over to computers the more routine parts of teaching. This chapter, then, is about a teacher's resources:

o books o films, videos, filmography (films based on books) o computers o statewide instructional/professional development centers o funding o other resources

191

198 Books

The Model Curriculum Standards and Suggested Book List were drawn up by the California State Department of 1::(,,Ication with the help of administrators and teachers throughout the state. An annotated bibliography of these works is available for computers throughthe Curriculum Implementation Center inSan Diego. Districts are asked to use these tools to guide their selection of works to be read intensively and extensively.Where selections suitable for regional classrooms have been made (the Point-of-View Statement suggests districts select 200 works for general recommendation and that the schools' professionals choose some 100 works-- poems, plays, essays, speeches, novels--to be read before graduation), college-bound students read more books, and more complex ones, and all students are encouraged to develop an individualized reading program.

Principles of Book Selection The books annotated here and those suggested in the MCS are not random. Many people,especiallyteacherstrainedinliterature,recognizeeasilythe difference between shallow books of the moment written only for commercial profit and those books which give insight, nourishment, genuine mental and emotional pleasures.All students of every color deserve to read (or when essential, to have read to them) truly first-rate works, those books described in the Point-of-View Statement as transcending time even as they embody their times. Such booksrevere language. They are universal, powerful, and full of rich nuances that reward reflection and study. But students also need to read works in which they see themselves, their problems, and their culture reflected. Further, they need to have their perspectives broadened and their imaginations developed by reading works about the oppositesex, about other ethnic groups, and about far-off societies. (Vicariousness is valuable in our rainbow society.) Gradually students themselves become more sensitive to quality in works. To assist them in their choices, schools should make available attractive summaries of the books they choose or recommend.We include next a sample of just such an annotated bibliography,intended to motivate students to extend their reading habits--to become lifelong readers.Of the fifty books, about thirty are on the

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IM) state's recommended reading lists.But, given limitations of space and time, the state list is partial; the etc., ubiquitous in those lists, reminds the profession the list is suggestive and partial.

* * *

CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS FOR YOUNG ADULTS

*Adams, Richard. Watership Down. Macmillan; Avon, 1974.

Inthisunit; toanimal saga, a ragtag band of rabbits threatened by the destruction of their warren, sets out to establish a new home on the English downs.

Asimov, Issac. Foundation. Doubleday; Avon; Ballantine/Del Rey, 1952. The fall of the Galactic Empire impels a group of psychohistorians to establish a hidden foundation for the development of a new society in the first volume of a trilogy completed by Foundation and Empire and Second Foundation and reopened with Foundation's Edge.

#Auel, Jean. Clan of the Cave Beer. Crown; Bantam, 1980. An orphaned Cro-Magnon child, adopted into a clan of Neanderthal hunter- gatherers, grows into womanhood and into a gradual awareness that her survival is linked to that of humankind.

*Baldwin, James. If Beale Street Could Talk. Doubleday/Dial; NAL/Signet, 1974. Twenty-two-year-old Fonny, wrongly imprisoned for rape, and 19-year-old Tish, pregnant with his child, support each other in the struggle against injustice and racial oppression in Harlem. Another fine novel by Baldwin is Go Tell It on the Mountain.

* Refers to works recommended in the State's suggested reading fora Core and Extended Program.

# Refers to works suggested in the Recreational/Motivational Readingor mentioned elsewhere in the MCS. That excellent writers mentioned here are not mentioned in the State list serves to remind us the work of choosing the best for our students is ongoing. The key is to find works of high quality that are genuinely meaningful to youngsters.

193 2 1 0

.'tA. Beagle, Peter. The Last Unicorn. Viking; Ballantine, 1968. A funny/sad quest-fantasy inwhich an enchanting unicorn -- joined on her journey by a bungling magician, a pure-at-heart wench, and a butterfly--leaves her idyllic forest in search of others of her kind.

Borland, Hal.When the Legends Die. Harper; Bantam, 1963. Thomas Black Bull, a young Ute forced into the white man's world, becomes an embittered, brutal, horse-killing rodeo rider before he finds his identity through acceptance of his Indian heritage.

*Boulle, Pierre. The Bridge Over the River Kwai. Vanguard; Bantam, 1954. During World War II, a British colonel almost drives 500 enlisted men to death in the process of building a bridge over the River Kwai on orders of his Japanese captors--and then resists British saboteurs who come to blow it up.

*Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. Doubleday; Bantam, 1950. The late-twentieth-century colonization and exploration of Mars by Earth provide a loose framework for a series of stories about the first landingon Mars, the first colonies, the nature of the elusive Martians, and the lives of Earthlings turned Martians.

Clarke, Arthur C. Childhood's End. Ballantine/Del Rey, 1953. In the near future Earth is invaded and ruled by a beneficent superior species that is preparing humanity for a giant evolutionary step forward. The author's Rendezvous with Ramaisanother fascinating portrayal of human-alien contact.

#Demetz, Hannah. The House on Prague Street. St. Martin's; Bantam, 1980.

Escalatinganti-Jewishsentimentformsthebackdropofastrongly autobiographical novel that balances pleasant recollections of a girl's protected growing up in Czechoslovakia with the tragic circumstances of her first love and the nightmare of World War II.

Durham, Marilyn. The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing. Dell, 1972. Released from imprisonment for killing the murderers of his Indian wife, Jay Grobart stages the robbery of a train to get money to buy back his son--but the presence on board of a white woman complicates his plans.

194 *Fast, Howard. April Morning. Crown; Bantam, 1961. The familiar story of Lexington and Concord takes on immediacy and deeper meaning as it is related by 15-year-old Adam Cooper, son ofa N.assachusetts farmer, who is catapulted from childhood to maturityO.) that fateful day in April, 1775.

Finney, Jack. Time and Again. Simon 6: Schuster, 1970. As part of a top-secret government prcject, Simon Morley steps back in time to the New York City of the 1380's, where he meets and falls in lose with Julia.

Forsythe, Frederick. Day of the Jackal. Viking; Bantam, 1971.

An unassuming French policeman matches wits withan elusive Englishman who is out to assassinate Charles de Gaulle.

#Gaines, Ernest.The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.Doubleday; Bantam, 1971.

The story of a courageous black woman who began lifeas a slave on a Louisiana plantation, was freed at the end of the Civil War, and lived to take part in the civil rights demonstrations of the 1960's. Gaines has recently written another powerful black novel, A Gathering of Old Men.

*Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Putnam /Coward- McCann, 1954. Marooned on a tropical island, a group of English schoolboys tries to setup a civilized society; but, with fear of the unknown,savagery erupts, and the rule of brute force leads to murder.

#Green, Hannah. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. Ilarpr; NAL/Signet, 1964. A 16-year-old schizophrenic girl struggles to leave her private fantasy world with the aid of a sympathetic psychiatrist who helps her to accept the harsh but healthy challenges of life.

#Guest, Judith. Ordinary People. Viking; Penguin, Ballantine, 1976. Still emotionally fragile after his attempted suicide, 17-year-old Conrad returns Iome to reevaluate his relationship with his parents and tocope with the r P" u it t associated with his brother's death.

195 2 12 Heinlein, Robert. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Putnam; Berkeley, 1966. With the help of a sentient computer named Mike, the inhabitants of Earth's open penal colony on the moon rebel against the Authority to demand independence.

*Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. Simon & Schuster; Dell/Delta, 1961. Black humor permeates titis savage attack on war in which a World War II flier Ix ieves that if he can convince others he is insane, he will be relieved of duty.

*Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. Scribner, 1952. With a young companion looking on, an old, once skillful fisherman, now down on his luck, fights a heroic battle with a monstrous fish. The antiwar love story A Farewell to Arms is another excellent Hemingway novel.

Herbert, Frank. Dune. Putnam; Berkley, 1965. In the first novel in Herbert's ongoing epic series, young Paul Atreides, trained from birth in desert discipline, becomes the prophet Maud-9)lb, who leads the savage Fremen of Dune against the Empire.

*Hersey, John. The Wall. Knopf, 1950. A long, harrowing, ultimately triumphant World War II novel of the heroic resistance of a group of Jews facing annihilation by the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto.

#Hesse, Herman. Siddhartha. Norton; Bantam, 1951. Siddhartha leaves his Brahmin family on a quest that takes him from asceticism to profligacy to a love of the world as it is.

*Jackson, Shirley. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Viking; Penguin, 1962. Merricat Blackwood lives alone with her sister Constance: everyone else in the family is dead, poisoned by a fatal dose of arsenic in the sugar bowl.

Kellogg, Marjorie. Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. Farrar, 1968. A funny and poignant story of three physically disabled young people -Junie Moon, disfigured by an acid attack; Arthur, victim of a progressive neunological disease; and Warren, a paraplegic--who set up housekeeping together.

196 Kesey, Ken. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Viking; Penguin; NAL/Signet, 1962. Feigning insanity to avoid the law, rabblerouser Randal Patrick Mc Murphy leads a group of fellow mental patients in a struggle to rediscover their human dignity.

*Knowles, John. A Separate Peace. Macmillan; Dell/Delta; Bantam, 1959. In a New Hampshire boarding school during World War II, Gene causes an accident that cripples his handsome, daredevil friend Finny: and, much later, Gene faces the ambivalence and rivalry in their friendship.

*Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper; Warner, 1960. Tomboy Scout recollects a telling summer in the 1930s when her beloved father, Atticus Finch, risked condemnation by town racists for defending a black man unjustly accused of rape.

*Le Guin, Ursula. The Left Hand of Darkness. Harper; Berkley/Ace, 1969. On the ice-bound planet Winter, where mutated nongendered humans can become either male of female during estrus, Gen ly Ai, emissary from the GalacticLeague,findshisunchanging maleness a personal and social psychological barrier.

MacLean, Alistair. The Guns of Navarone. Doubleday; Ballantine/Fawcett, 1957. With the lives of 1,200 British soldiers dependent upon their success, Captain Mallory and a small group of commandos must destroy the German-held batteries in the impregnable rock fortress of Navarone.

Malamud, Bernard. The Fixer. Farrar; Pocket/Washiiigton Square Press, 1966. Based on an incident that took place in Czarist Russia, this tragic portrayal of anti-Semitism tells the story of a Jewish man falsely accused of the ritual murder of a child.Malamud's book The Assistant, a novel of romance and redemption, lends additional insight into the Jewish experience.

Markandaya, Kama la. Nectar in a Sieve. John Day; NAL/Signet, 1955. Married at the age of 12 to a tenant farmer she has never seen but comes to love, a simple peasant girl, Rukmani, struggles quietly and courageously against poverty and natural disasters in a changing rural India.

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, c"...

2' 4'1. #Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. Harper; Bantam, 1963. An autobiographicalnovel abouta younggirl--brilliant,beautiful,and successful, but slowly breaking down--written by a poet who later committed suicide.

Portis, Charles. True Grit. Simon (Sc Schuster; NAL/Signet, 1968. A stubborn 14-year-old finagles an equally stubborn marshal into helping her track down her father's killer in an Old West yarn that mixes the comic with the typical shoot-em-up.

#Potak, Chaim. The Chosen. Simon & Schuster; Ballantine/Fawcett, 1967. A relationship that starts in the fierce rivalry of a baseball game grows to strong friendship between two Orthodox Jewish boys, Danny and Reuven, and Reuven becomes involved in the conflict between Danny and his austere Hasidic rabbi father. The story continues in The Promise.

Renault, Mary. The King Must Die. Pantheon; Bantam, 1958. Small and quick-witted, the Greek hero Theseus at seventeen is already a seasoned warrior when he volunteers to fight with the conscripted Athenians in the deadly bull dances in Crete.

*Sa linger, J.D. Catcher in the Rye. Little, Brown/Bantam, 1951. Three days and nights spent in New York City by Holden Caulfield, a sensitive, intelligent, and honest sixteen-year-old, as he confronts the false values of the adult world.

*Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Dutton; Bantam; NAL/Signet, 1963. Condemned by the Stalinist government to forced labor in Siberia, a man suffers through a day at the camp, evoking the rituals and ploys he has conceived to preserve his life and sanity.

Stewart, Mary. The Crystal Cave. Morrow; Ballantine /Fawcett, 1970. The first episode in Stewart's Arthurian trilogy follows Merlin's adventures and education in the magic arts from childhood to the year of Arthur's birth. The story continues in The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment and branches out in The Wicked Day, a tale of Modred.

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2 ..:-r 0 #Swarthout, Glendon. Bless the Beasts and Children. Doubleday; Pocket, 1970. A group of unhappy teenage boys, the outsiders at a summer camp, find self respect and freedom when they work together to free a herd of buffalo about to be brutally slaughtered.

Tey, Josephine.Daughter of Time.Macmillan; Pock, .'Washington Square Press, 1952. To pass the time while in the hospital, a man turns his investigative prowess toward unraveling the mystery associated with Richard III of England and the deaths of the two young princes kept in the Tower of London.

*Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings. Houghton, 1965. The Fellowship of the Rings (1954), The Two Towers (1955), and The Return of the King (1956) constitute a three-part saga about the home-loving young hobbit Frodo, who undertakes a valiant and perilous journey to prevent a magic ring from falling into the hands of the powers of darkness.

Uhlman, Fred. Reunion. Farrar; Penguin, 1977. As Hitler comes to power in Germany, the close friendship between a Jewish boy and his aristocratic classmateisdestroyed--until thereis a tragic ''reunion."

*Vonnegut, Kurt.Slaughterhouse Five; or, The Children's Crusade.Delacorte; Dell/Delta, 1965. Billy Pilgrim, "unstuck in time" shuttling between the World War II fire- bombing at Dresden and a luxurious zoo on the planet Tralfamadore, worlers if life is meaningless.

*Walker, Margaret. Jubilee. Houghton; Bantam, 1966. Plantation life in Georgia, the events of the Civil War, and the frustrations of Reconstruction are vividly portrayed from the black point of view through the story of the slave woman Vyry.

Wharton, William. Birdy. Knopf; Avon, 1979. Alternating narratives trace a friendship that is tested when a Vietnam veteran is called upon to help his buddy overcome a longtime obsession with birds that has finally pushed him over the edge of reality.

199 *White, T.H. The Once and Future King.. Putnam; Berkeley, 1958. A dramatic, sometimes witty retelling of Arthurian legend follows Arthur from boyhood to the disintegration of Camelot.

#Wouk, Herman. The Caine Mutiny Doubleday; Pocket, 1954. On a U.S. minesweeper in the Pacific during World War II, the officers take over from their mentally unbalanced captain and face a dramatic court-martial on their return.

* * *

If what your young people check out first is number of pages, they will not read thepowerfulAutobiographyofMissJanePittmannorBradbury'sMartian Chronicles.Until the day when longer books mean lengthier pleasure for them as for us, here is another list, no book over 150 pages.

THIN AND RICH: SKINNY BOOKS

*Blos, Joan. A gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-32. Scribner, 1979. Catherine Hall,a New Hampshire teenager,writes about her farm life, weddings, deaths, and her encounter with a runaway slave.

Byars, Betsy. The Glory Girl. Viking, 1983. linlilce the twins (Joshua and Matthew) and her beautiful sister, Angel, Anna Glory of the Glory Gospel Singers family can't carry a tune. An outcast uncle and a daring rescue help her find her place.

Greenwald, Sheila.It All Began With Jane Eyre, or the Secret Life of Franny Dillman. Little, Brown, 1980. Franny reads classics in the closet until her mother buys her a stack of books which sound strangely familiar, and Franny tries to make her family fit the modern mold.

200

,. Johnson, Anabel, and Edgar Johnson. Finders Keepers. Four Winds, 1981. Two young people in Denver, Colorado, cope with "The horrors of a nuclear 'incident.'"

#Konigsburg, E. L. Journey to an 800 Number. Atheneum, 1982. While Max's mom honeymoons with her new husband, Max stays with his camel- keeping dad, tours the country, and meets some mighty strange people. Lasky, Kathryn. The Night Journey. Warne, 1981. In secret midnight conversations, Rachel's great-grandmother recreates her past as Jew in Czarist Russia.

*Le Guin, Ursula K. Very Far Away from Anywhere Else. Atheneum, 197G. Owen Thomas Griffiths and Natalie Field are loners who find each other's friendship warming but not cons ming.An unwanted new case and "love's rearing its ugly head" changes both of them.

Moeri, Louise. Save Queen of Sheba. Dutton, 1981. King David, after being half-scalped, has to lead his feisty and foot-dragging six-year-old sister, Queen of Sheba, down the Oregon Trail.

O'Dell, Scott. The Black PearL Houghton Mifflin, 1967. Ramon finds a huge pearl in the lagoon guarded by the "Devil Manta" and steals it back from the church 'because of a superstitious fear.

Richter, Hans Peter. Friedrich. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1970. Christian Hans and Jewish Friedrich are best friends until Hitler rises to power.

Walsh, Jill Paton. A Parcel cPatterns. Farrar, Strauss, Giroux, 1983. A cloth pattern drenched in a seventeenth-century rain causes an outbreak of the plague which dooms Moll Percival's neighbors, friends and family.

* * *

201 2r ;8 The State of California was recently surprised to find that fifty percent of its first graders are now nonwhite.It becomes increasingly important to acquaint ourselves and all our students, whether in ninety percent Anglo or ninety-five percent Hispanic shcoois, with the important works of writers of color as well as all the great books forming our civilized world. Bernice S. Thompkins has compiled a list of key works by American Indian, Black, Mexican-American, and Asian American writers.

Multiracial Anthologies

Troupe, Quincy, and Shulte Rainer,eds. Giant Talk. New York: Random House/Vintage, 1975. One of the best, most complete collections of work by various Third World writers.

AMERICAN INDIAN LITERATURE

Hobson, Gerald, ed. The Remembered Earth. U of New Mexico, 1981. This anthology of poetry, prose, and drama is the most recent collection of contemporary American Indian authors from all over the United States. Some are well known; others appear for the first time in this collection. The book is divided into four regions, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest, with an essay at the beginning of each section tying the works together and discussing some of the particulars of each region as shown in the writings. The contributors' tribal backgrounds are listed.

Momaday, N. Scott. House Made of Dawn. New York: Harper, 1966. This novel received the Pulitzer Prize in 1969 and has been accepted as the major modern American Indian novel dealing with Indian life in the twentieth century.To date, it is also the "Indian" novel that most literary reviewers analyze.

Rosen, Kenneth, ed. Voices of the Rainbow. New York: Seaver Books, 1975. Early collection of American Indian poets emerging throughout the U.S. into the "literary scene." Most of these authors attended the American Indian Art Institute in Ilanta Fe, New Mexico.

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2I.1i,,a ° Storm, Hyemeyosts. Seven Arrows. New York: Harper, 1974. Fictionalized version of Cheyenne origin stories and a reworking into a modern context of tribal ways and thought systems.Acclaimed by dominant culture readers and critics.Controversial among Indians to some extent, in particular with the Northern Cheyenne. Storm is Cheyenne.

Welch, James. The Death of Jim Loney. New York: Harper, 1979. The book recounts the story of a mixed-breed young man and his inability to find a place in either his Indian culture or the dominant white culture. Set in Montana, this is Welch's best work to date.

BLACK-AMERICAN LITERATURE

Chapman, Abraham. The Negro in American Literature and a Bibliography of Literature by and about Negro Americans.Oshkosh:Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English, Wisconsin State U, 1966. General essay and bibliography covering black life, culture, and literature, by one of the most widely respected scholars in studies of ethnic literature in the U.S.

Christian, Barbara. Black Women Novelists: The Development of a Tradition, 1882- 1976. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1980. One of those rare and wonderful books that meet every criteria of superior literary criticism.It is original, carefully researched, interesting both for its information and its critical formulations, beautifully written, and important. It both documents and analyzes the tradition of black women writers in America, suggesting their relationship both to one another and to their historical and literary contexts.

Emanuel, James A., and Theodore L. Gross.Dark Symphony: Negro Literature in America. New York: Macmillan/Free Press, 1968. Stories, poems and essays by writers from Frederick Douglass to LeRoi Jones, with first-rate bio-critical introductions. Excellent selections.

Ellison, Ralph. The Invisible Man. New York: Random, 1984. This novel, by any critical criteria, social or formal, stands as one of the greats. The nameless protagonist's quest foridentity and maturityis structured througha series of symbolic orarchetypal experiences and

203 210 encounters that cumulatively disillusion and educate him to the realit's of life inracist America. Inits profound social criticism and inits e. istential interpretation of life, the novel is above all a consummate work of art.In acknowledging its universality, however, not all white critics recognize the extent to which it is indebted to the language, music, and folk traditions of black culture.

Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God. New York: Lippincott, 1937; Reprinted New York: Fawcett, 1965. One of the unde?read classics of American literature, this novel is by a writer and anthropologist who has subsequently become an inspiration and source for contemporary black women writers, one whose contributions to literature have recently been more generally acknowledged.The story, told mostly in the vivid, witty dialect of Janie, the protagonist, is about a woman whose strength and humor see her through three marriages, the third a union of love.Set in the deep South,the novel creates a vivid sense of time and place that nevertheless transcends "regionalism" and also a sense of tragic limitation haunting the generally affirmative presentation of human life.

MEXICAN-AMERICAN WRITERS

Bruce-Novoa, ed. Chicano Authors: Inquiry by Interview. Austin, U of Texas, 1980. Useful paperback containing informative interviews with fourteen leading Chicano writers as well as brief biographical sketches.Final bibliography (unannotated) includes anthologies, fiction, poetry, drama, and criticism.

Sornt.rs, Jor ?ph, and Tomas Ybarra-Frausto, eds.Modern Chicano Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1979. First-rate essays by leading critics, providing general historical and cultural frameworks for the study of Chicano literature as well as critical essays on such individual writers as Alurista, Tomas Rivera, Judy Lucero, and Bernice Zaniora. Includes an important selection on Teatro Campesino.

Tovar, Ines Hernadez. "Chicana Writers."Women in Texas.Ed. Rose Marie Cutting and Bonnie Freeman. Austin: U of Texas, 1977.

Tovarisone ofthe bettercritics,combining anethnic and feminist consciousness with a sophisticated appreciation of the formal qualities of literature.

* * *

204

C. 211 .113111r

Novels Anaya, R'idolfo A. Bless 11,1eUltima. Berkeley: Tonatiuh International, 1977. A classic novel about the relationship of a young boy and a curandera who assists at his birth and is asked to come to live with his family. Will his destiny be like that of the wild, free rancheros in his father's family or the peaceful, quiet land-tilling people of his mother's family who want him to become a priest?This novel incorporates culture, religion, tradition and myth without ever sacrificing character, plot, or theme.Literary gem for high school or college and one of the more widely read and praised of Chicano works.

Harth, DorothyE., and Lewis M. Baldwin, eds.Voices of Aztlan: Chicano Literature Today. New York: New American Library, 1974. Excellent anthology which includes short stories, poetry, drama, and portions from four sustained prose works:Ernest Galarza's fine eltobiogrpahy, Barrio Boy, and three novels: Pocho, Chicano, and The Plum Pickers.

Hinoiosa-S., Rolando.Estampas Del Valley Otras Obras.Berkeley:Quinto Sol, 1973.

Both English and Spanish versions of stories rendered by an author who captures the realism of everyday events in the style of oral storytelling.The Spanish versions sound more authentic.

Rivera, Tomas....Y No Se Lo Trago Tierra... and the Earth Did Not Part. Berkeley: Quinto Sol, 1971.

Bilingual stories which capturetheoral traditions of Mexican-American cuPure.They focus on the lives of migrant farmworkers; their struggles in schools; and their desperate longing for something better, although hard work, honesty, and love of one's family sometimes seem to create only pain, both physical and emotional.In the title story, an adolescent boy questions the existence of God, finally cursing Him.Later, he wonders why he had been allowed to curse God, "... and the earth had not parted." Rivera is one of the finest contemporary Mexican-American writers.

ASIAN-AMERICAN WRITERS

Chin, Frank et al., eds.Aiiieeeee! An Anthology of Asian-American Writers. Garden City: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1975. Probably the first anthology of Asian-American literature, and a very good one. A long introduction covers historical background and presents the editors' definitions of Asian-American literature. 205 212 Houston, Jeanne Wakatuski, and James Houston.Farewell to Manzanar. San Francisco: San Francisco Books, 1973; Bantam, 1974. Evacuees begin to arrive at Manzanar, the first camp in Owens Valley on March 25, 1942.By August 12, 1942, evacuation has been completed. This memoir was made into a film (AS).

Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior:Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. New York: Knopf, 1976. In this eloquent and compelling work, Kingston uses the myth of the woman warrior as a background and counterpoint to her own story.Although one should not mistake this usage of mythic metaphor for reality, the novel stands out as a hypnotic work. Kingston virtually invents a new genre, a combination of myth, folktale, reminiscence, and reflection.

Leong, George. A Lone Bamboo Doesn't Come from Jackson Street. San Francisco: Isthmus Press, 1977. An entertaining collection of imagistic, poems and other works that recollect the history and recent sociological events of Asians in America as well as the emotional fabric of that society. Incidentally, in Chinese painting, the bamboo signifies a man.

Okirnoto, Daniel. American in Disguise. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1971. A Sansei (third) generation Japanese-American searches for his identity in Japan and in the United States.

Wand, David IIsin-Fu, ed. Asian-American Heritage. New York: Washington Square Press, 1974. A collection of stories, poems, essays, novel excerpts and oral poetry, with commentaryfor each section. One of thebest,most representative anthologies.

Note: For a complete bibliography on writers of color contact: Deborah Rosenfelt Women's Studies Department, San Francisco State U, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132. Itisalso available from UCLA's Office of Academic Interinstitutional Programs, 1145 Gayley Center, Room 304, Los Angeles, CA 90024. The 70-page annotated bibliography includes important books of poetry and short stories as well as anthologies, novels and criticism.

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206

c A.0 1 0 ,4. THEMATIC BOOK LISTS Schools implementing fully the Model Curriculum standards can create any format for teaching literature they wish:courses designed around great authors, genres, or themes.The MCS suggest several themes with attendant core and extensive works.Theme H, for example, is "A Time for Courage" suggesting intensive reading of works like Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Tennyson's The Charge of the Light Brigade and Ann Petry's Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad.Extended readings include Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front, Harper Lee's To ICill a Mockingbird, and Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.Given the range of students and interests in a class, we add to the MCS list the following less sophisticated works for individualized outside readingprograms. This listing, then, can be used to supplement a class uniton the theme of courage.The characters in these novels demonstrate the deepening knowledge of self which occurs when one survives a difficult situation. The bookson this list can be read by mature junior high school students and high school students in9-10 grades. Teachers and librarians may duplicate this list foruse in schools. (Compiled and annotated by Sandra-Chell Gerard.)

Survival: Sometimes It's More Than Just Staying Alive

Ittakescourageanddeterminationtosurviveindifficultsituations. Sometimes physical endurance and a knowledge of environmentare key elements to survival; sometimes the ability to outwit an opponent is important.Sometimes because of disease or physical disability, survival involves overcoming monsters thu mind creates.

Brancato, Robin F. Winning Knopf, 1977. After Gary is injured in a high school football game, he has to learn how to cope with his status as a quadraplegic.

Cormier, Robert. After the First Death. Pantheon, 1979. Ben describes the terrorist hijacking of a bus full of children from his uneasy perspective as a negotiator. 207

1 French, Michael. Pursuit. Delacorte, 1982. A hiking trip in the high Sierras turns into a test of survival as Gordy struggles to outwit Roger and make it to town with the news of his brother's murder.

Forman, James. Call Back Yesterday. Scribner, 1981. Cindy wakes to find she has survived a frightening hostage experience, but as her memory returns, she realizes the true terror of her situation.

Gauch, Patricia Lee. Morelli's Game. Putnam, 1981. Jerry looked around at his misfit teammates; he didn't want to be the hero to lead them past the dragons on the long bike trek to Washington, D.C.

Holman, Felice. Slake's Limbo. Scribner, 1974. Terrorized by a gang of boys, Aremis Slake finds refuge in the subway--a refuge that will last longer than he first thought.

Hoover, H. M. Another Heaven, Another Earth. Viking, 1981. Scientists coming to explore a new planet discover they are not the first humans to set foot on the land.

Kilgore, Kathleen. The IVolfman of Beacon .:-Iill.Little, Brown, 1982. Toney and a half-wild wolf share the same fate; they are both hungry, homeless and loose on the streets, but only one of them will survive.

Laurence, Louise. Calling B for Butterfly. liar-Row, 1982. Four youths and two babies are apparently the only passengers to survive the breaking-up of their space ship; can they ever learn to work together to get to their destination?

Mazer, Harry. Snowbound. Dell, 1975. A boy and girl who hate each other find out they have to cooperate in order to survive the worst snowstorm of the winter.

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42 1 5 O'Brien, Robert C. Z for Zechariah. Atheneum, 1975. Ann's discovery that she is not the last person alive aftera nuclear war has a surprising impact on her survival.

Peyton, K. M. Prove Yourself a Hero. Collins, 1978.

Kidnap victim, Johnathan Meredith, knows he can identify his captors;can he prove himself a hero by facing the consequences of confronting these men?

* * *

Films, Videos

The Model Curriculum Standards view the use of films, videotapes, and recordings as a supplement to the written text ina regular classroom situation. At no time is an audio-visual aid meant to be used as an end in itself. The teacher is responsible for integrating it into the lesson plan for the literature being studied. If possible, the teacher should also try to develop studentawareness of the differences between specific media and literature and of the unique qualities inherentin a medium such as film.For instance, after reading the book and seeing the film To Kill a Mockingbird, the teacher could encouragea discussion of the difference between the book and the film and speculate on the reasons changeswere made for the film. A teacher might read a passage froma book such as the death of the dog in Old Yeller and then show the same passage in the movie, asking the studentsto make a distinction between the narrative techniques available to the film maker and to the writer. The teacher may even point out techniques that arc unique to film, suchas the breakfast scene montage in Citizen Kane. A few guidelines to prevent copyright violation: o Copyrighted programs can be retained for forty-five days to evaluate. o Copies used for instructional purposescan be held for ten consecutive school days.

o Programs shown in class must include copyright notices. o Duplication of film to video or video to viueo is illegal.

2 1 G A Selected Filmography

The Good Earth Pearl Buck's great novel is beautifully brought to life in this Oscar-winning film. China's restless past is explored from a horizon of hope. (MGM) 138 min.

Ivanhoe Sir Walter Scott's famous novel of early England becomes a mighty spectacle! Produced with vigor and beauty. (MGM) 107 min.

Grapes of Wrath John Steinbeck's timeless story of farmers moving during the depression to reestablish their lives in California. (20th Century) 128 min.

Cyrano De Bergerac Edmond Rostand's tale of the tragic wit--an academy awara-winning film filled with humor, sensitivity, action and empathy. (Columbia) 112 min.

Moby Dick Herman Melville's classictale of Captain Ahab's relentless obsession for settling the score with the famed Great White Whale. Gregory Peck is Ahab. (Warners) 116 min.

The Great Gatsby

F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous portrait of society in the 1920's.Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and lavishly produced with Robert Redford as Gatsby. 144 min.

Diary of Anne Frank Magnificent drama about Anne and her family in hiding from the Nazis during World War II.150 min.

To Kill a Mockingbird A sleepy Southern town is disturbed by a controversial trial in this exceptional adaptation of Harper Lee'sPulitzer prize-winning novel. Oscar-winning performance by Gregory Peck. 129 min.

210 1 217 Never Cry Wolf A gloriously photographed story of determination and self-discovery. A wolf study project that transforms a young biologist's life. (Disney) 105 min.

A Midsummer Night's Dream An all-star Warner Brothers cast featuring James Cagney as Bottom in this recreationofShakespeare'stimelesscomedy. Music byMendelsohn. (Warners) 117 min.

Romeo and Juliet Zefferelli's exceptional version of Shakespeare's immc-..al tale of two lovers torn apart by their parents -- sumptuously produced and brilliantly performed. (Paramount) 138 min.

* * *

Computers

The chief use for computers in the English/Language Arts classroomsnow seems tolieinthe sophisticated word-processing functions.Some software, encouraging use of the writing process, including prewriting questions, revision guides, and editing devices, is slowly making its way into schools and colleges. For students, the Apple Writer Program offers an easy, rapid, and interesting approach to composition. The student's ideas can be entered quickly, rearrangedas desired, corrected with ease, and presented in a final form thatensures a paper worthy of his efforts.

WANDAH (Writing-aid AND Author's Helper),a software package developed for the IBM Personal Computer, offers a varied set of writing tools for the composition student and teacher.The package includes a set of pre-writing and planning exercises, an easy-to-use yet powerful wordprocessor, and an assortment of revision aids. Available from Harcourt, Brace, and Jovanovich.

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..- 2 i 0 C'. '' The use of PFS File, Report, and Sortwork makes the compilation of notes relatively simple. These programs allow organization of information that eventually will require libraries to make computers available to all students, even as the xerox machines are today. In addition, there are programs for specific studies of well-known works, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, A Separate Peace, and many others, with the number growing continuously. Speed Reader, Word Attack, 'ractice SAT tests, and programs of similar nature, challenge the students and enhance their abilities to think and respond quickly. For the teacher, reading student papers "written" on a word processor is easier. Games, including crossword puzzles using targeted vocabulary, can pique the students' interest and force them to learn complex subjects. All of us love to win- and the computer provides the opportunity for the diligent to excel. In addition, Grade Book is an effective word processor in the preparation of tests, letters, and reports. There is a newer program-- Appleworks- -that can prepare a spreadsheet along with a report.Print Shop is effective in illustrating teacher handouts and student materials.For keeping records and files, the PPS Programs haw: proven invaluable.All of this software is readily available at any computer store. As use of the computer becomes more common, modems will provide instant communication and availability of the latest information in the field of education, as it now does in that of medicine.

* * *

Teacher Education Computer Centers (TEC Centers)

Fifteen TEC Centers spread throughout the state offer technical assistance, classes for teachers, software review libraries, and public domain software for copying.If you'd like to compare a number of software programs before purchasing one, see if your TEC Center has copies you can view at the Center.If you feel the

212 29 need for "hands-on" experience and practical ideas on how to use the computer, your regional TEC Center offers courses at all levels.Call your county office of education if you don't know the location of your TEC Center.

Computer-Using Educators (CUE)

The CUE Newsletter includes a language arts column, software reviews, a column by a representative of the state office of education, and articles by teachers about the::' experiences with computers in the classroom. Area affiliates of CUE are located around the state.Two major conferences offer opportunities to take seminars from other teachers using computers and meet informally with other English teachers in idea-sharing sessions. CUE's address is:

CUE, Inc. P.O. Box 1 8547 San Jose, CA 95158

The Computing Teacher

The chief publication of the International Council for Computers in Education, The Computing Teacher includes a column for English teachers and another for school librarians.Other features are practical articles, software reviews, and reviews of books relating to computers.Conference announcements and summer course listings keep the teacher aware of opportunities for learning more about computers and their classroom uses.While available at some newsstands, The Computing Teacher comes with membership intheInternational Councilfor Computers in Education. The address is:

ICCE University of Oregon 1787 Agate Street Eugene, OR 97403-1923

213 220 Building Your Own Research File

Building your own research file is the way to have broad professional knowledge at your fingertips, information immediately available when you need it.The file, organized in the manner most meaningful to you, locates material without your having to search repeatedly for them among your own notes or from texts.The building of a research file is not a very difficult task. The following steps may help you:

o Decide what you want in your field.If it is "Authors and Their Works," begin accumulating.

o Lcquire the necessary mechanical aids: a file cabinet (as your files grow, you may find you need more than one), folders, etc. A computer with the PFS programwill make theinformation you acquire more readily accessible.

o Consider every source--magazines, newspapers, textbooks, letters, etc.- then file information thus garnered under each author's name. An obscure article, a little known poem, biographical details are all at hand--you do not have to institute a prolonged search for them.

Such a researchfileisalifelong project, but a most rewarding one. Furthermore, one's personal research file may become a resource for the school or the district.

Hidden Riches: State Resources

Besides the familar sources of materials and ideas--school and community libraries, district instructional materials centers, and county offices of education- here are some special sources:

California Centers for Educational Improvement

TheCentersforEducationalImprovementareinvolvedinspreading information on programs developed by districts around the country. Some materials are available at cost; others are available to those who take in-service classes in how 214 221 to use materials and programs.For example, suppose you'd liketo have,your students write an "I Search" paper as a followup to reading The Grapes of Wrath. The Northern California Center for Educational Improvement has packaged 48 pages on "I Search" assignments developed by two districts. Subject area bibliographies and information on services are available from the Centers: Northern California Center for Educational Improvement Office of the Butte County Superintendent of Schools 2120 Robinson Street Oroville, CA 95965 Central California Center for Educational Improvement Office of the Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools 100 Skyport Drive San Jose, CA 95115 Southern California Center for Educational Improvement Office of the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools 9300 East Imperial Highway, Room 246 Los Angeles, CA 90242

Curriculum Implementation Centers: A Care Package for English Teachers To help teachers, schools, and districts to meet the Model Curriculum Standards, California has established an English Language Arts Curriculum Implementation Center (CIC).Before investing thirty hours in developing a thematic unit, say on -death and dying, a teacher might check with the CIC to see if a unit has already been done. If teachers would like to see a classroom where the ideas in the Model Curriculum Standards are being used, the CIC will be able to direct them toa demonstration program near them. The CIC offers workshops, staff development,a curriculum resource library (including software examination copies), instructional units, annotated bibliographies, and a list of schools field testing recommended techniques. Contacts for the Center are: Mary A. Barr, CIC Project Director Region 15 TECC San Diego/Imperial County 6401 Linda Vista San Diego, CA 92111 (619) 292-4349

215

.1 222 Lynn King Crutch ley, CIC Co-Director Region 14 TECC Orange County 200 Kalmus Drive, P.O. Box 9050 Costa Mesa, CA 92628-9050 (714) 966-4349

Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

ERIC is another source for materials such as a Mexican-American literature bibliography or a model program using drama as a motivator for low-achieving students.UC and CSU campus libraries keep collections of ERIC documents on microfiche.Most of the material is teacher-developed with grant money and not availablein publication elsewhere. Over 240,000 documents are available on microfiche.ERIC also offers abstracts of journal articles, growing at the rate of over 1,500 articles a month. The university librarian can assist teachers in using ERIC, either manually or by having a commercial organization search the ERIC database by computer. The first step in either is to consult the ERIC manual, Using the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors to find the guide words for use in the search. For a manual search, the teacher consults the monthly publications ERIC puts out, Resources in Education (for documents) and Current Index to Journals in Education.If a teacher is looking in Resources in Education, he or she writes down the pertinent document numbers and gets the appropriate microfiche.Teachers with a journal article title, can consult the periodicals list of the library for the journal's availabiltity.If not locally available, the university librarian may be able ix) order an important journal from a cooperating library.

ERIC functions through subject-area clearinghouses.Clearinghouses provide bibliographies, monographs, and further information about ERIC. The clearinghouse of greatest interest to teachers of literature is operated by the National Council of Teachers of English and specializes in reading and communication skills. Information on the other clearinghouses, such as the ones dealing with rural education or bilingual education, can be found in the ERIC indexes. The address is:

ERIC/RCS 111 Kenyon Rd. Urbana, IL 61801.

216 223 Funds Federal Funds

The federal government, despite recent cutbacks, still supports the arts and humanities.Most English teachers are not aware of the availabilty of the vast amount of federal funds that could be used by English departments and English teachers throughout the state of California. Each year this money has to be used by someone. Why not English departments?English teachers?or other related arts? Here are some sources.

Reading Is Fundamental Ownership of a book that a student has selected can be a key to "hooking" him into reading.Reading Is Fundamental matches local funds to enable you to give books to students.If your school is given a Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) grant, you purchase books you select from authorized distributors at special rates.You give students the opportunity to pick books three to five times a year, promoting reading with a special activity precedingthedistribution.To find out if your school qualifies, write: Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. 20560 or telephone (202) 287-3220.

The National Endowmeats Arts, Humanities

Promotion of the Arts Type of Assistance: Grants ranging from $6,250 to $50,000. Applicant Eligibility: Individuals, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments.

Objective: To providefellowships for creativewriters, andtosupport organizations devoted to development of the literary arts in America. Contact:Director,Literature Program,National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506. (202) 634-6044

2 1 7

:IS 2 2 Promotion of the Humanities Instruction in Elementary and Secondary Schools Applicant Eligibility: Individuals, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments. Objective: To promote the development and testing of imaginative approaches to precollegiate educationinthe humanities by supporting demonstration projects that can be completed within a specified period of time. Most projects are planned and implemented by groups of school and/or university faculty, last one to three years, and are concerned with the design of model courses or programs,teachertraininginstitutes,orthedevelopment of curricular materials, including an emphasis on teacher training.Projects often involve increased collaboration between schools, higher education institutions, and cultural institutions. The division particularly seeks projects that show promise of serving as models for other institutions. Contact: AssistanceDirector,Division of Education Programs, National Endowment for the Humanities, Room 302, Washington, D.C. 20506, (202) 786- 0373. Promotion of the Humanities

Type of Assistance: Grants ranging from $10,000 to $200,000. ApplicantEligibility: Individuals, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments.

Objective: To encourage and support humanities projects that demons'ratenew ways of relating the humanities to new audiences.Projects must draw upon resources and scholars in thefields of the humanities.Priorities include projectsundertakenbynationalorganizationswhichbringhumanities programming to members and affiliates, and projects using previously untested techniquesforinvolvingthepublicinprograms examining the cultural, philosophical, and historical dimensions of contemporary society. Contact: Program Development, Division of Special Programs, National Endowment for the Humanities, Room 426, Washington, D.C. 20506 (202) 786- 0271

Promotion of the Humanities Youth Grants Type of Assistance: Grants up to $15,000. Applicant Eligibility: Individuals, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments.

Objectives:To support humanities projects initiated and conducted byyoung persons. Grants are awarded for research, education, film and community

218

2 r? 5 projects in one or more fields included in the humanities: history, philosophy, language, linguistics, archaeology, jurisprudence, art history and criticism, and the humanistic social sciences. (Youth grants are not awarded to anyoneover the age of 30.) Contact:Director, Office of Youth Programs, Room 426, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506, (202) 786-0273.

Note: For more information on government funding, check: Lesko, Matthew. Getting Yours: The Complete Guide to Government Money. Rev. Ed. Penguin Books, 1984.

219 22G APPENDIX A

CALIFORNIA LITERATURE INSTITUTE PARTICIPANTS, 1985

Writers of the Sourcebook

Kay Allgire Torrey Pines High School, San Dieguito Union High School District Kathy Andrews Sacramento High School, Sacramento City Unified School District Dannelle Bar tln Grossmont High School, Grossmont Union High School District Annamarie Beard Thousand Oaks High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District Evan Bell Vista High School, Kern Union High School District Lori Benstead-FromeFerndale School, Ferndale Elementary School District Arthur Berchin Taft High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Ruby Bernstein Northgate High School, Mt. Diablo Unified School District Meredith Bilson Saint Monica High School, Archdiocese of Los Angeles Timothy Bunce Villanova Preparatory School, Archdiocese of Los Angeles Catherine Burkhart Serra Junior High School, Whittier Union High School District William Burns Sonora High School, Fullerton Joint Union High School District Evelyn Burroughs Mount Miguel High School, Grossmont Union High School District Jacquelyn Carter International Support Services, Compton Unified School District Edwin Chevalier Thousand Oaks High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District William Clawson Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica/Malibu USD Joanne Collins University High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Marilyn Colyar * San Marino High School, San Marino Unified School District Donna Conant Relocating Ronald Contreras Alisal High School, Salinas Union High School District Virginia Cotsis Fillmore High School, Fillmore Unified School District Jaye Darby Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills Unified School District Jerri Fullmer-Hegyi University High School, Irvine Unified School District Janis Gabay Serra High School, San Diego Unified School District Sandra Gerard Cathedral High School, Archdiocese of Los Angeles Jann Geyer Los Angeles Unified School District Kathleen Gorney Morse High School, San Diego Unified School District Joanne Grimm Havenscourt jr. High School, Oakland Unified School District Carol Haaland Westminster High School, Huntington Beach UHSD Nina Hackett * Chatsworth High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Jane Hancock Toll Jr. High School, Glendale Unified School District Esther Harris Skyline High School, Oakland Unified School District Cheryl Hatch San Lorenzo School, King City Union School District Christine Herman Alisal High School, Salinas Union High School District Charlotte Higuchi 9th Street School, Los Angeles Unified School District Romana Hillebrand Wilson High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Janet Hironaka Gardena High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Barry Hottle Washington High School, Fremont Unified School District

221

227 Jann Jenkinson Davis High School, Modesto City School District De Witt Johnson Ygnacio Valley High School, Mt. Diablo Unified School District Murlene Johnson * Crenshaw High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Phyllis Jung Foothill High School, Kern Union High School District Janet Kenny Los Alamitos High School, Los Alamitos Unified School District Eva line Khayat KruseAudubon Jr. High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Marcia Koenig El Camino Real High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Sheila Koff Orange Coast College, Coastline Community College District Kathryn Konoske Temple City High School, Temple City Unified School District Elizabeth Larkin Point Loma High School, San Diego Unified School District Maynae Lew Lincoln High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Danielle Lindstrom Oroville High School, Oroville Union High School District Peter Lock Mountain Empire High School, Mountain Empire Unified School Dist Margaret Low San Juan Union School, San Juan Unified School District Kathleen Luke Dominguez High School, Compton Unified School District Ellen Manhire District Office, Fresno Unified School District Bruce Moon Norte Jr. High School, Grant Joint Union High School District Janice Moorehouse Ramona High School, Riverside Unified School District De Ann Morris Crescenta Valley High School, Glendale Unified School District Arlene Mulligan Crawford High School, San Diego Unified School District Marie Neer Modoc High School, Modoc Joint Unified School District Julie Newburn Modesto Unified School District Lee Nicholson Modesto Jr. College, Yosemite Community College District Gail Niedzwiecki Fillmore High School, Fillmore Unified School District Barbara Palmer * Locke High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Katharine Paull Sylmar High School, Sylmar Unified School District Marlyn Pino Mesa Verde High School, San Juan Unified School District Elane Po lin Newton Middle School, Torrance Unified School District Carol Purcell American High School, Fremont Unified School District Mary Purucker Webster School, Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District Jack Richardson Huntington Park High School, Los Angeles USD Beverly Robison McClatchy High School, Sacramento City Unified School District Mary Lou Samuelson Nicolas Jr. High School, Fullerton Joint Union High School District Mollyann Schroeder Welby Way Gifted Magnet School, Los Angeles USD Rita Shuster Westlake Jr. High School, Oakland Unified School District Elaine Sorrell Marina High School, Huntington Beach Unified High School District James Speakman El Camino High School, Sacramento City Unified School District Jo Ann Speakman El Camino Fund. High School, San Juan Unified School District Randy Stewart Newbury Park High School, Conejo Valley Unified School District Alan Takagaki Eagle Rock High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Sue Thomas Valley High School, Elk Grove Unified School District Bernice Thompkins Fremont High School, Oakland Unified School District Anita Thompson Temple City High School, Temple City Unified School District Fern Thomson Rubidoux High School, Jurupa Unified School District Hortense Thornton California State University, Sacramento Sandra Toms Garfield High School, Los Angeles Unified School District Audrey Wersen Willow Glen High School, San Jose Unified School District Marilyn Whirry * Mira Costa High School, South Bay Union High School District Barbara Zussman Beverly Hills High School, Beverly Hills Unified School District

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c.. 2 2 3 Regional Directors

John Angelo Alisal High School, Monterey Peninsula Unified School District Mary Barr Curriculum Implementation Center, County Office of Education Barbara Evans Monterey County Office of Education Mel Grubb Los Angeles County Office of Education Lloyd Thomas Los Angeles Mission College, L. A. Community College District Hortense Thornton California State University, Sacramento

Director

Patricia Taylor* Office of Academic Interinstitutional Programs, UCLA

State Department of Education Bill Honig California Superintendent of Public Instruction James R. Smith Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instructional Leadership David W. Gordon Deputy Superintendent for Public and Governmental Policy (Co-director, California Literature Project, 1985-86) Frantic Alexander Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (Co-director, California Literature Project, 1986-37) Sally Mentor Director of Instructional Support Services (Co-director, California Literature Project, 1986-87)

Liaison:

Mae Gundlach Office Li' Humanities Curriculum Language Arts/Foreign Language Unit

* Co-editors of this sourcebook have asterisks after their names. Besides the work of these co-editors, we must heartily thank Jo An Simmons, assistant editor and writing consultant for OAIP for bringing clarity, coherence, and substance to the book.

223

:S 22D APPENDIX B

NARRATIVES EXPLAINING THE CHARTS

FACING CHAPTERS 1 TO 4

Chapter 1. The Reform in Curriculum. The full explanation of this graph is found in the Point-of-View Statement, Chapter 2. Briefly,the upper half of the circles emphasizes statewide goals: in all classrooms, all students everywhere will focus on literature.Values and issues presented in literature will be emphasized. What is important is the meaning of the work: what matters in life for us, for our students, for our world. The lower half of the circles depicts the weaknesses that have sometimes crept into curricula. Thus from a fragmented, often arbitrary approach to teaching English, we are trying to move toward a more coherent program. The standards call for more rigor in order to challenge all students since high expectations seem essential for growth. Less-prepared students should not be denied good literature.Older methods were often unintentionally biased in relegating remedial students to workbooks and grammar drills instead of finding works accessible for them and using oral interpretation, questioning, films, writing, to get them into important books. We hope to avoid "quick fixes" in teaching writing--those formulas which don't use writing as a tool to think and learn with. Instead students write often (1) to learn the meanings implicit in what they're reading; (2) to discover their own writing processes; and (3) to develop their person& voice, their distinctive style of writing consonant with their unique personalities.

Chapter 2. Levels of Literacy The point of this graph is to show the development of literacy from one's early experiences with language (talking, reading McDonald signs, hearing stories) through

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230 reading on one's own for information and pleasure to becoming a fully literate writer and reader.Stephen Krashen emphasizes the crucial rt._e of the middle stage, of what he calls "flashlight-under-the-blanket-reading," especially during ages 10-15. Such reading is linked to proficient writing skills later. Because the youngster reads (1) what is comprehensible (2) without anxiety (3) for hisor her own purposes, the linguistic mind soaks up vocabulary, structures, usages, etc., in a rapid and pain-free manner.Its important that schools encourage outside individualized reading a4 all levels and that teachers get kids hooked on books.

The development from average readers to critical readers ismore mysterious yet crucial.Apparently, some youngsters see how much books have to offer them, and they identify themselves as the kind of persons who read to get smarter. Teachers can play an important role here through instigating and rewarding in-depth learning. Developing critial readers and writers is the lifelong task which the schools initiate.

Chapter 3. The English Program Reading--intensively and extensively--is the most efficient, indeed, the only comprehensive way to learn all the skills as well as the substance of our language. Conscious, drill-based methods don't work because language is too complicated to learn rule by rule. We don't learn language so much as acquire it while we're meeting our needs and purposes. The graph recommends a personal reading program for each student, and the integration of reading, writing, speaking and listening around literature.As we do this, students are internalizing vocabulary, styles of writing, etc.The only skills that may have to be directly taught are fine points of spelling and usage, and even these are best taught when students are editing theirown and each other's papers.

Chapter 4. Systematic Writing Program The recommendations on this chart are the crystallization of much research over the past fifty years.First, students should write often enough for writing to become a comfortable, natural tool to learn with. Teachers and parents should not inhibit writing by excessive concern for perfection while fluency is being developed

225 231 or while ideas are being discovered and shaped.Most writers need more time than one-shot assignments allow.Thus lessons should call for preliminary work, drafting which focuses on content before students revise (improve ideas and organization) and edit (meet conventions of correct usage, spelling, and mechanics).Teachers will lighten paper loads if students work together to revise and edit drafts. The MCS and Point of View encourage students to develop their own voice and style whether through creatively revising other writings, through using figures of speech, or through simplifying bureaucratic prose. We often become aware of the highest possibilities of words when studying poetry. We learn to love words when we have fun with them.Writers care about style when they see it as a dress in which they present themselves to the outside world.Finally writing--hard work as it is needs to be about something important to us.It can help us learn, discover, and remember all that is of significance.

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2 ..1,.... APPENDIX C

LESSONS FOR THE RHINOCEROS

A.Work and Author

Ionesco, Eugene. Rhinoceros. Trans. Derek Prouse. New York: Grove, 1960.

B. Activities for Preparing to Read: Ways INTO The Rhinoceros

1.Discuss the results of conformity and nonconformity in our society.

2. Discuss conformity/nonconformity in your own life.How do other people react to both qualities? explain.

3. What are your feelings about your personal integrity? What is it? How important is it?

4. Explain what is meant by "bourgeois mentality."How does this idea relate to you?

5. Discuss alienation in contemporary society and inyour own lives.

6. Discuss the concept of commitment in society and in yourown lives.

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2:13 . C .4... C. Prewriting Activities after Reading

1. Read aloud the first act of the play.Discuss what might happen next. Write a brief summary of your ideas.

2. What is your favorite passage in the play? Copy and discuss why this is your favorite.

3. List the questions you might have about the play.

4. With what social issues does the play deal? Discuss.

5. Discuss an important theme in the play.

6. Explain the method by which a civilized society might accept the Fascist ideal.

7. Discuss the concepts of alienation described in the play.

8. What are your feelings about the conclusion of the play? Discuss.

9. Discuss some insights you have gained from the play.

10. Imitate the style of one passage which you enjoyed.

D. Features of a Successful Essay

1. States the purpose clearly.

2. Chuvses textual material from the work.

3. Uses evidence to support generalizations.

4. Displays knowledge of character development.

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'.... 4 .... 234 5. Integrates evidence smoothly.

6. Shows a change or development of character.

7. Brings together evidence for clear concluding statements.

E. Notes on Teaching the Lesson

1. My students had written about literature previous to this assignment. Therefore, a problem consisted in having them change methods.

2. Once the method was begun, I found I was moving too slowly and I had to speed up steps for senior students.

3. The first time through the assignment took a few days plus another day for the reader-writer workshop.

4. The next time I went through it students did most of the steps at home. They "found evidence" in the classroom where I could give approval. They also did the reader-writer workshops.

5. The third time, the students did all the steps at home and attached them to the papers. They did the reader-writer workshop in the classroom.

6. Papers, on the whole, have shown consistent improvement.

7. The reader-writer workshop has taught students a tremendous amount about writing and revising. Amazing!

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9 '.? 5 APPENDIX D

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

State Department Publications Related to the Sourcebook

English /Language Arts Framework, Grades K-12.

Handbook for Planninan Effective Writin: Proram, Grades K-12.3rd edition available March 9, 1986.

Model Curriculum Standards: English/Language Arts, Grades 9-12. Raising Expectation: Model Graduation Requirements. Schooling and Language Minority Students: A Theoretical Framework. These can be ordered from The State Department of Education Bureau of Publications P. 0. Box 944272 Sacramento, CA 94244-2720 (916) 445-1260

Publications of UCLA's Office of Academie Interinstitutional Programs

From Literacyto Literature: Reading and Writing for the Language Minority. Student. June 1986.

The Shortest Distance to Learning: A Guidebook to Writing Across the Curriculum. 1983.

Other Key Publications Referred to in this Sourcebook

Adler, Mortimer. The Paideia ProposaL New York: Macmillan, 1982. ---. Paideia Problems and Possibilities. New York: Macmillan, 1983. 230

. 2:3 (3 ---. The Paideia Program. New York: Macmillan, 1984. Bellah, Robert N. Habits of the Heart. Berkeley: U of California Press, 1985. Cremin, Lawrence.Genius of American Education.Pittsburgh: U of Pittsburgh Press, 1965.

Finn, Jr., Chester E., Diane Ravitch, and Robert Fancher. AgainstMediocrity. New York: Holmes and Meier, 1984. Good lad, John I. A Place Called School. New York: McGraw, 1984.

Hirsch, Jr., E. D. "Cultural Literacy." American Scholar, Spring1983, pp. 159-69. ---. "English and Formalism." American Scholar, Summer 1984, pp. 369-79.

---."'Cultural Literacy' Doesn't Mean 'Core Curriculum." English Journal,October 1985, pp. 47-49.

Krashen, Stephen D. Writing:Research, Theory and Application. Oxford: Pergamon, 1984.

Smith, Frank. Essays into Literacy. Portsmouth, NH: HeinemannEducational, 1983. Whitehead, Alfred North. Aims of Education. New York: Free Press, 1929.

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